


Only You

by mystic_believexx



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: AU, Adult Content, Alternate Universe, And Harry has a secret, Basically Louis has a strange and creepy roommate who he can't seem to get off his mind, Bit of angst but not really, Boarding School, Bottom Louis, Dark past comes to light, Domination, Genius Liam, Harry has a troubled past, Harry is mysterious or maybe creepy, Infatuation, Jealous Harry, Jealous Louis, Liam's in love, Louis helps Harry, Love, M/M, Niall is Niall, No parents, Offensive language at times, Passion, Please read, Possessive Harry, Sexual Tension, Submission, Zayn is popular, breaking rules, explicit scenes, hate turned to love, larry - Freeform, possible triggers, stylinson, ziam
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-26
Updated: 2015-10-04
Packaged: 2018-03-15 08:08:08
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 26
Words: 78,482
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3439814
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mystic_believexx/pseuds/mystic_believexx
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A strict school, a forbidden love and a burning hatred that turns to passion so hot Louis' in very real danger of getting burnt…</p><p> <br/>After pulling one prank too many on their high school's Principal, Louis and Liam get transferred to Stanford Institution, a boarding school with a reputation for handling rebellious teens. Louis' determined to buckle down and follow the rules so he can come back home as soon as possible but unfortunately for him, his roommate-one Harry Styles- has other plans.</p><p>Sometimes things have a funny way of working out...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A mild punishment

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Disclaimer:** This work is entirely fictional. The plot and characters are created by me and are in no way a representation of any real life individuals. No offence is intended.
> 
> The Russian translation by [wild_hare](http://archiveofourown.org/users/wild_hare/pseuds/wild_hare) can be found [here](https://ficbook.net/readfic/3813010) :) xx

"Let me guess, he gave you the 'Louis is an uncontrollable rebel' speech again?" Louis gave a yawn, covering his mouth as his mum placed bacon and eggs in front of him, "Or he said I'd amount to nothing and to not get your hopes up".

"No. He told me he's given you enough chances and this called for drastic punishment", she said, keeping her eyes on her son. "What do you have to say about it?"

Louis huffed out a breath.  
"It's hardly a punishment worthy task. We were just having a bit of fun!"

That made Jay glare at him.

"Spray painting your Principal's car is not a joke, Louis. It's the first week of the school year and a bunch of teenagers decided to give his car a makeover! And you even dragged poor Liam into it!"

"Liam didn't mind standing guard though he did a pathetic job of it", Louis muttered, thinking back to how their Principal had wandered around the corner just as Louis and Stan were putting on the finishing touches, Liam standing behind him with a 'I'm so sorry!' look on his face.

Louis took a bite of his breakfast as he added, "I don't get why he's so mad about it. If you'd seen that car before we were done with it! He should be paying us for doing all of human kind a service…"

"I cannot believe you have the audacity to tell me your Principal should thank you for painting his car neon pink!" 

"Bubblegum pink", Louis couldn't stop himself from smirking. "That's what it said on the can. We thought it'd suit his complexion".

"Louis Tomlinson! This is not a laughing matter! I have never been more disappointed in you and…"

Louis sighed as his mum spoke, nodding in all the right places, pulling off the 'repentant' face to perfection, if he did say so himself. He wasn't the best drama student for nothing!

"Pack your bags", she said at last, "I'm dropping you and Liam off tomorrow".

"Dropping us off where?" Louis asked, feeling as if he had missed something important.

"Your new boarding school. It's called Stanford Institute. Your Principal recommended it. Said it was the perfect place for spirited young men", Jay ran a hand through her hair, obviously finding this to be an acceptable enough reason.

"Mum!" Louis jumped up, eyes wide. He had heard of Stanford in the way children heard of the evil queen's castle in Snow White- too far away for it to be of any significance to them. "You can't be serious about sending me there! Stan's cousin used to go there and he told us they used metal chains to whip them if they stepped a toe out of line! Metal chains!"

Jay gave him a fondly exasperated look.  
"Oh, don't be ridiculous, Boo! I've looked through all the brochures Karen gave me. They do no such things! In fact, it's one of the highest academic institutions in…"

"Liam's mum gave you brochures?" Louis narrowed his eyes at his mother, who was suddenly very immersed in studying the depths of her tea. "I thought you said the Principal recommended this place?"

"Well…he did. Technically. He said that there wasn't much the school could do for you and that your troublemaking was a sign of boredom…"

"Boredom!" Louis scoffed, "Anyone would be bored with the classes we have to sit through!"

"Exactly!" Jay nodded as if pleased with the answer. "See? You need to go to a school that will push you, give you more opportunities than this town ever could".

She was starting to sound an awful lot like Liam and Louis narrowed his eyes further, knowing somehow that his friend was behind this.

"So Karen had a look at this place and she came back with brochures from Stanford Institution. We both agreed that you two would be better off there for your final year of high school".

She beamed as if that settled the matter.

"Ah, no. Sorry, let's just back up a bit here. Liam's practically a kid genius! I can understand him wanting to go to a private boarding school but I'm fine here, thanks".

"Louis! You know that you're an equally bright…"  
She ignored his mutter of, "Not really".

"…and extremely talented person. Your Principal agrees that you would thrive in a school that could challenge you in the way Stanford can. I know it's a bit far from home and your sisters and I are going to miss you terribly but this is what's best for your future…"

"You're wasting your time", Louis pointed out but Jay just gave him a glare, changing her tone to the same one she used to use when Louis snuck an extra cookie from the snack jar before dinner.

"…and you are going to pack your bags tonight, young man so I can drive you and Liam down to Stanford tomorrow. You will be staying there for the remainder of the school year and that is non-negotiable! Why can't you be excited about it? Liam is!"

"Of course he is!" Louis muttered because Liam Payne had the ability to be excited about anything and everything. He was a glass half full kind of guy even when it was, in reality, three quarters empty. Louis remembered one time when Liam had gotten food poisoning and had still found a way to smile about it.

Louis, personally, had not seen any bright side to puking in the toilet every twenty minutes!

"So that's it then? I don't get a say in it at all?" Louis finally asked, playing his last card. The guilt card.

Jay sighed at that and her voice sounded drained when she said, "It's for your own good, Boo. Just give it a go, yeah?"

"It's fucking bullshit is what it is!" he shouted because if he didn't get angry, he knew he would start to cry. And that just couldn't be allowed to happen. What if Lottie or Fizzy walked in and saw him crying like a baby? They'd never let him live it down!

 

Jay didn't correct his language or stop him from walking out of the kitchen and into his room. She didn't say a word as she heard the slam of his bedroom door. It was only after she was certain he couldn't hear her that she picked up her phone and dialled a familiar number.

"Karen? We'll see you and Liam bright and early tomorrow!" She smiled into the phone as Karen squealed back, talking about how much brighter their kids' futures would be with an education from Stanford. It really was one of the best in the country!

 

And so, to Louis' great dissatisfaction, despite him refusing to leave his room the whole day and barely eating anything, he found himself bundled into the car the next morning, large suitcase in tow. 

His bad mood only got worse when they pulled up at Liam's to see him practically bouncing on his feet, the very picture of uncontainable joy. It was sickening, Louis thought, how someone could be so bright and chirpy at such an ungodly hour!

"Tommo!" Liam beamed at him as he got in the car, making Louis groan and slip the hood over his head. 

Not to be deterred, Liam began prodding his arm with his hand.  
"Come on, mate! How can you sleep at a time like this?"

"Payne, it's six fucking thirty in the morning!" Louis grumbled but Liam's enthusiasm only seemed to grow at that.

"I know! Can you believe it? We're going to Stanford! Finally! Only took my mum three years to convince!"

That made Louis look up, the glare on his face directed at his best friend.  
_"You're_ the reason I have to go to this stupid place?"

"Stupid?" Liam seemed affronted. "It's got the highest academics in the country, Louis! That's not to be taken lightly! They have a vigorous study schedule, I've heard. Imagine how much better our final grades will be at the end of the year! We could get into any university we wanted!"

"Too early in the morning to think about studies!" Louis mumbled but Liam was chattering away beside him as fast as the speed of sound could carry and Louis finally gave up as the last remnants of sleep slipped away from his desperate hold.

"So then", he finally asked more out of boredom than anything else, "Where exactly is this place?"

"You didn't read the brochures? Of course you didn't read the brochures! I don't know why I bother honestly…" Liam began before answering Louis' question in the most long-winded way possible.

In the end, Louis had figured out it was somewhere near the coast and quite a journey away from his small hometown.

 

The further away they got, the more excited Liam became and the quieter Louis ended up. It got to the point where even Jay, who was blasting The Beatles on her speaker, noticed.

"You're unusually quiet, Boo. Everything okay?" she asked.  
No, Louis wanted to say. Nothing is okay. I don't know why I'm in this car. I don't want to go to this bloody school.

What he finally said though was, "Yeah. Just a bit tired".

 

Liam looked over at him with a grin and said, "Let's hope our first stop on the school tour is the cafeteria then. Get you pumped up on caffeine!"

Louis grunted but didn't add anything further. In all honesty, he doubted even an entire room of caffeine could get him pumped up about this place.

"You could at least pretend to laugh. I put a lot of effort into my jokes, you know!" Liam pouted and Louis had to give a small smile. He stopped the moment he realised what he was doing. 

Louis was not happy, damn it! And no one was going to make him pretend otherwise!  
Sad face, keep the sad face strong, Louis chanted to himself in his head.

"Alright, Tommo. We may as well get this over with since you're going to act like a miserable prick the whole day if we don't", Liam sighed, turning to face his friend and lowering his voice so Jay wouldn't hear. "Tell me. What's wrong?"

Louis raised his eyebrows at him.  
"What's wrong? Let's start with the fact we're going to a school which has a reputation for taking on rebellious teenagers- undoubtedly the only reason i got in. I'm probably going to get murdered in there. Not that anyone would miss me if that did happen", he muttered.

"Sheesh, mate! It's a school not a high security prison!" Liam exclaimed and Louis had to fight not to laugh at that one. Why was Liam trying to make it so bloody hard to stay sad?

"If you're really lucky", Liam whispered conspiratorially, "The Principal here might need her car to be renovated too. Just make sure you've got all the exits covered this time, yeah?"

"Novice mistake", Louis whispered back and despite being annoyed, he couldn't stop the grin from spreading on his face. "I'll know for next time at least!"

Jay heard that last part for she gave him a glare in the mirror.  
"There won't be a next time, Louis Tomlinson".

"Of course not, Mum!" Louis smiled back before winking at Liam, who chuckled behind his hand. Because God forbid if he appeared to be rude in front of an adult!

Then again, Louis thought, maybe he should take some tips from Liam. Everyone loved him- parents, teachers, old ladies. Even terrifying cats (Louis still had no idea why Mr.Twinkles, the menace of a cat that lived across the street from him, was happy to cuddle with Liam when he'd rather gouge Louis' eyes out than let him near him!).

Louis had no doubt that within a week, every student, staff and pet at Stanford's would be devoted to Liam. He was just that friendly a guy! He hardly ever broke the rules as well, unlike Louis and he still felt a bit guilty for their car prank, the only one in which he had managed to convince Liam to stand guard and also the only one where he had been caught red-handed.  
Liam didn't seem to mind too much though, especially not now that he was getting the chance to go to a better school.

 

It was just after twelve thirty that they arrived at their new school.

"Alright boys. Here we are", Jay said as they pulled up outside a large, grey…castle? It certainly looked big enough to be one. Louis found himself wishing Phoebe and Daisy, his youngest sisters, were here to see this. They'd love it! The thought was followed quickly by a pang of homesickness that Louis brushed aside. His mum hadn't even left yet and he was already homesick! That just wouldn't do!

"It was built in the 1800's", Liam, the human encyclopaedia, was saying as he pointed towards the large building. Liam was just full of fun little facts like that!  
But even Louis had to admit that it was beautiful and not at all like what he had been expecting. Then again, he had been expecting something straight out of a horror novel, complete with hanging skeletons in the windows. Stanford's large windows faced the front drive and glinted in the sunlight, devoid of any skeletal remains. There were three towers,both wide and tall, rising up on either sides of the building. Louis got out of the car to hear the sound of waves crashing against rocks somewhere nearby.

He looked over at Liam with questioning eyes and was immediately graced with an answer.

"Stanford overlooks the Atlantic Ocean", he pointed towards where the large brick wall that surrounded the place obscured Louis' view of what he supposed was the ocean. "In summer, they let us go down to the beach and swim or surf. I can't wait!"

Louis ran a hand through his already tousled hair, breathing in the fresh scent of the ocean breeze. This was the place he was going to be staying in for the next eight months. He wasn't sure how he felt about it yet.

 

 

"You must be Mr. Louis Tomlinson and Mr. Liam Payne!" an enthusiastic voice said from the now open doorway of the castle. A woman with blonde hair curled into a bun stood there, her bright pink lipsticked smile making Louis feel immediately ill at ease with her presence. She looked rather like a bat to Louis with her pointed face and bright eyes. The kind of bat that would suck your blood…or was that only a thing in supernatural novels?

"I'm Martha", she said, walking up to shake hands with Jay. Then she turned to the boys. "But you'll both learn to know me as Madame Grey, the Headmistress of this fine institution. Let's go to my office, shall we? So we can discuss the conditions of your stay. It's especially a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Payne", she added.  
Louis suspected Liam's astounding grades had something to do with that. Increase the reputation of the school and all.

She led them into the castle and Louis was amazed by how welcoming the inside was. The corridors were carpeted and there were bright lamps on the stone walls that seemed to be permanently turned on. Nothing like the prison he had imagined it to be!  
The woman called Martha who resembled a bat (Louis didn't have to call her Madame Grey in his own thoughts!) kept up a steady stream of chatter with Jay, steadily ignoring the boys who trailed behind her.

They didn't see any other kids around as they made their way up a flight of stairs to Martha's office. Her very large, luxuriously furnished office. She offered tea to Jay and offered her the a visitor's seat then offered Liam the same courtesy, leaving Louis to stand. 

"We can share!" the ever generous Liam immediately said but Louis shook his head and placed a friendly hand on his shoulder.  
"Not a problem! I wanted to stand anyway". He already hated this place and, more specifically, the woman that sat at the desk sipping tea from a delicate china cup.

"I can promise you, Mrs. Tomlinson that you will hardly recognise the boys by the end of their stay. There's not a bad nut in the country Stanford hasn't been able to change for the better!", Martha said to Jay with the sickeningly sweet smile only one with true evil in her heart could produce. Louis thought he had the right to be dramatic, all things considering!

"Oh, please call me Jay. I don't think either of them are really…bad nuts", Jay said a little uncertainly, glancing at Louis. "Bringing them here was more so they could have better opportunities than what their old school could offer them, you know?"

"Of course!" Martha's tone immediately changed to pacifying. "I can personally guarantee you that Stanford offers only the very best to its students. We have some of the best and most experienced staff in the country, quality…"

"You can drop the act", Louis said casually, "She's already paid the fees".  
"Louis!" Jay scolded lightly and Liam gave him a disapproving frown but it was worth it to see Martha's forced smile slip a bit.

"Sorry", his mum apologised on his behalf because Louis sure as hell wasn't going to! "He's a bit of a joker at times".  
Martha gave an obviously fake laugh, her eyes hard as they turned to Louis.

"I'm sure he'll learn to contain himself within the first few weeks. We have an allocated time for everything at Stanford, including entertainment and jokes".

Louis' jaw actually fell open when she pushed a piece of paper across to him.

"This is your daily schedule", Martha explained before turning back to Jay and Liam, leaving Louis to stare at the ten minute block each afternoon labelled 'Entertainment'. What in actual hell was this insanity?

"They have normal classes-English, maths, science and so on- every weekday. Attendance is taken in each class and any unnecessary tardiness will result in detention".

Liam had sat forward, obviously interested in the stuff she was spewing so Louis tried to pay attention too. Knowing Liam, he'd give him a pop quiz on it later.

"Every Friday afternoon for two hours, you will have an Elective of your choice. The Electives are supervised by our Prefects so no teachers will be present but if any rules are broken, have no doubt that we will hear about it. Our Prefects are a very responsible bunch".

If Louis had been thinking about breaking any rules, he pushed that thought to the back of his mind. 

Martha was still talking so he brought his attention back to the subject at hand.  
"You have what we call 'clean up' on Saturday mornings. It's compulsory for all students unless you get a medical certificate from our resident doctor in the medical wing. You'll be expected to do small tasks such as sweeping and gardening during clean-up. Some students find it to be quite enjoyable!"

Louis was quite certain he would not be one of those students.

"Once a fortnight, we have a bus take students into town for any shopping or other things you might wish to do. However, these trips are meant to be a treat so if you receive any detention prior to the trip, you will not be allowed to go. As you've probably understood by now, we take great pride in our scholars' behaviour and attitude. Your behaviour is what decides how pleasant or unpleasant your Stanford experience will be! You know what they say. I am the master of my fate…"

"I am the captain of my soul!" Liam immediately chimed in, earning a soft-eyed smile from Martha.

"I'll tell you about your lodgings as well", she said, tapping on her computer's keyboard with sharp, red-polished nails. "The rooms are in the other two towers. They're set out in Blocks from A to F and each block has forty rooms and each room houses two students. Now, I'm sure I don't need to tell you this…"  
She looked at Liam with another smile, "But just to cover the bases, I'll tell you anyway".  
Her eyes turned to Louis, obviously letting him know the message was for his sake. 

"At no time are you allowed to leave your Block and wander into any of the others. Not that you'll be in your dormitories much. Generally just for bed and afternoon naps".  
"I haven't had an afternoon nap since I was in kindergarten", Louis thought and realised a second too late, he had spoken out loud.

"Well, you'll just have to get used to it again then, won't you?" Martha replied, shortly before turning to Jay again. "Each block has a Matron who checks they're keeping their beds and things clean and ordered. We have a medical wing as well so don't worry about them falling ill".

She laughed as if this were a personal joke before picking up a pen and paper from her top drawer. 

"I'll just write down which dormitory block you're both in and then you can go up and find it. You'll have to say goodbye here, Jay. The dormitories are only for staff and students".

Jay nodded and Louis could see the tell tale signs that she was going to cry.

"I'll be fine, Mum. We both will", he told her as she pulled him into a hug. He was going to miss her. A lot. And the girls. He'd miss them the most!

"I know, I know", Jay sniffled but managed a smile. "Just follow the rules, both of you. And no more pulling pranks, alright? I want you home as soon as possible".

Louis nodded, forcing himself to smile and ignoring the lump in his throat.  
Jay pulled Liam into a hug too, pressing a kiss to both their foreheads before she stepped back. 

Her phone buzzed for attention and she looked down.  
"It's your mum, Liam", she smiled at him, "Wants to know if you're settled in".  
"Tell her not to worry too much", Liam answered with a smile, "I'll give her a call sometime today".

"Telephone hours for family and friends are written near the front door. If you're caught using your phones at any other time, you will get punished", Martha said from her place at the desk. Louis wanted to throw something at her face. They had allocated times for calls too? What was next? Toilet timetables?

"I'll take note of the times then", Jay said, giving Louis one last hug. "And I'll pass them onto Karen as well, Liam. Be good, boys. Liam, try and keep Louis in line, will you?"

"Hey!" Louis said at the same time Liam said, "I'll try my best!"

Louis and Liam waved as Jay walked out. They turned back when they heard Martha clearing her throat, rather impatiently.

 

"Your block and room numbers", she said, holding out two pieces of paper that they took. "Give those to your Matron and she'll give you your clothes and other things".

"Clothes?" Louis asked.

"Yes", Martha was smiling again and Louis had a bad feeling about it. "While at this institution, we expect all students to be equals so you are assigned a uniform. Also, all luxury items will be removed from your bags. Your Matron will tell you more about what is allowed and what isn't. Here's a map of the Institute. The black areas are out of bounds to students and you will be punished if you're found in any of them. Now, off you go. I have other matters to attend to".

She dismissed them curtly and turned back to the computer, the very picture of concentration. Probably playing Solitaire on it, Louis thought.

 

They left the office quietly, both feeling apprehensive. There sure were a lot of ways they could get punished in this place! Keeping the rules had never really been Louis' forte but he had promised himself that he would really try this time. He would be good.

A horrible thought struck him as they walked. 

What if the Matron was worse than Martha? Louis wasn't sure he'd be able to survive eight months if that was the case!

"This is going to be so much fun! We're on the same block, right?" Liam asked suddenly and Louis felt a stab of fear enter his heart. He had simply assumed Liam and him would be rooming together but remembering the smile Martha wore, he wasn't so sure anymore.

"I'm Block A. Room 24".  
Louis looked down at his paper and felt his heart clench. "Block A but Room 37. We're not even next to each other!"

Liam's face was as despondent as Louis' as they followed the map down identical looking corridors and found the long, winding stone staircase that led to the dorms. Every ten steps, there would be a door to the right or left with a sign above it announcing the Block. The first door they came across said Block F and Louis shared a look with Liam. They kept climbing, only stopping when they got to the last door, at the very top of the tower. 

"Just our luck", Louis panted, trying to catch his breath. "We get given the Block that requires the most exercise to get to! We better have a bloody amazing view or I'm asking for my money back!"

Liam laughed at that and clapped Louis on the shoulder.  
"Good to see you've gotten your sense of humour back", he grinned.  
"Yeah, yeah", Louis grumbled but he was smiling. "Let's just see the place we'll be spending the rest of high school in".

He placed his hand on the handle but Liam stopped him.  
"This is the first time we're walking into Stanford's rooms. Doesn't it almost feel sacred?"

Louis rolled his eyes but relented when Liam said, "Let's open it together".  
"Fine", Louis answered and they put their hands on the handle, opening it as one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **You can now find me on[twitter](https://twitter.com/mystic_believe) and [Tumblr](http://mysticbelievexx.tumblr.com)!**


	2. Meeting the Roommate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Louis meets his roommate.

The moment they entered the A Block, there was a long, wide corridor. This one was much homelier than any in the lower levels, with decorative rugs and paintings lining the walls. 

There was a door on the right with a sign stating it was the Matron's office. Louis hesitated briefly before knocking. He doubted she would appreciate them barging into her sanctum.

The voice that called out, "Come in!" was pleasant and Louis immediately liked the round-faced, middle-aged woman who was seated at the small desk. Unlike Martha's office, this one had a warm feel about it. Maybe it had to do with the photos that littered the walls- group shots of students in their pyjamas, pulling silly faces at the camera. At the top of each photo was printed the year it had been taken and Louis thought it was utterly sweet how the Matron cared enough about these students to keep photos of them long after they had graduated.

"Memories", she smiled at him, noticing his gaze. "Everyone under my care are like my children and Mum's always have photos of their kids, don't they?"

Louis grinned back and nodded. He recalled quite a few embarrassing pictures of himself that Jay had stored around the house. Louis had once attempted to get rid of them but each time he managed to sneak one into the trash, a new one would take its place on the mantelpiece, usually more embarrassing than the original. Eventually, he had just given up and learnt to accept it…and to steer clear of the area whenever he had friends over!

"I'm Sophie but everyone just calls me Matron", the woman had risen from her desk and come over to shake hands with Liam and Louis. "I'm the Matron for A Block, best dormitory block in the school I should add!"

When Louis laughed at that, it was the first genuine laugh he had given since arriving at Stanford. Yes. Matron was definitely better than Martha. This place might not end up being so bad after all!

Liam introduced himself and Louis followed suit, shaking Matron's hand with a smile.

"Louis and Liam. Lovely names. Now then! First things first. I need to sort out uniforms for you both and check your bags to make sure you don't have any prohibited items. Some of the things they don't allow are just ridiculous but rules are rules. If you two would follow me? The uniforms are kept in the storage area".

She led them to a door at the back of her office that led into a narrow corridor. Louis watched as Matron took out a large silver ring of keys and, with practised ease, selected one to unlock the door that led to the storage area.

Liam was gripping Louis' hand, excited beyond measure as Sophie, with the advantage of years of experience, guessed their sizes and gave them the required uniform items. Louis quite liked the look of the maroon jacket and dark trousers but he knew, just by looking at the collared shirts, that they would be uncomfortable to wear. Matron paired it with a tie and, finally, gave them each a large coat.

"You'll need that for the winter and the weekend trips to town", she explained before proceeding to check each of their bags.

Apparently, iPods were part of the 'prohibited items' list much to Louis' disappointment and Liam had to forego the soundproof headphones he had brought. Matron comforted them by telling them the school had a top of the range music room with all the equipment they would need, including a recording booth.

"Everything else seems to be in order", Matron smiled as she shut their bags. "You can wear your normal clothes whenever you don't have class. Do you have your room numbers with you? Oh good!"

She took the pieces of paper from them both as she led them back into her office.

They stood patiently as she pressed a few keys on her computer to bring up the list of students that occupied the A Block.

"Room 24. Liam, your roommate is Niall Horan. He's a lovely boy! Comes from Ireland. He only started last week so he's just as new as you are. I think you'll both get along!"

Louis couldn't quite contain the snort. Liam could get along with anyone in the world! He had an inability to make enemies, something Louis envied.

"And Room 37-oh! That's the one that was filled yesterday. It hasn't been updated on the system yet but I remember assigning a boy to that room. Hmm…we're going to have to find somewhere else to put you then. Not to worry!"

But as she scrolled through the list, crossing off filled room numbers, her frown deepened.   
"We're a bit full. What with it being the start of the year…hmm…there is one room but he's…well, he's had it to himself for quite a while now. About time he learnt to share. And it might do him good, to have someone else there…", she seemed to be more talking to herself by this point, her words a mumble. 

"Yes" she finally gave a decisive nod, looking up to face them again. "I'll put you in Room 40, Louis. Your roommate's name is Harry Styles. He's been with us since he was thirteen years old".

A long-time boarder then. Matron didn't mention anything about his character, choosing instead to lead them out into the corridor. 

"I'll show you to your rooms. Then you can unpack, get settled in. The bell will ring at seven for dinner. It's down in the Hall. Just follow the other students. You won't get lost".

She stopped outside a white door with the number 24 engraved on it and gave it three firm taps.

There was no answer.   
"Niall must be in the Music rooms again", she said, unlocking the door with her key. "That boy seems to know how to play every instrument invented by mankind!"

Louis almost wished he had Niall as a roommate. He sounded like a genuinely fun guy.

Liam followed Matron in and, not wanting to look like a lost boy standing in the corridor, Louis followed them too.

The rooms were much bigger than Louis had anticipated but he supposed that was part of the package of attending an expensive private boarding school. And Stanford was certainly that. Expensive.

He looked around to see there was a small leather lounge with a television in the corner and a window that faced the bluest ocean Louis had ever seen. There was a door on the left and right of the room and Matron walked towards the one on the left, explaining that was Liam's bedroom and the other was Niall's. 

Liam seemed thrilled with his king-sized bed and Louis spotted a walk-in wardrobe as well as a study table and chair. He hoped his room was just as luxuriously furnished.

They left Liam to get settled and Louis followed Matron as she led him right to the end of the corridor. She knocked on the room labelled 40 and closed her eyes as it was met by silence.

"He's not there?" Louis guessed but Matron shook her head, her lips in a thin line.

"No. He's in there". She turned to Louis and hesitated, as if trying to find the right words. "There's something you should know about Harry".

She had lowered her voice even though the corridor was empty apart from them. "He's been…for the last few years, he's been having a hard time. Personal problems and things. He doesn't talk a lot and he might not…be welcoming at first. He has his good and bad days, you could say. He hasn't had a roommate in a few years".

Louis felt there was something she was hiding from him but before he could ask, she went on.  
"What I'm trying to say is, just don't take anything he says or does personally. And if, at anytime, you feel out of your depth with him, just let me know and I'll try and sort something else out for you, okay?"

Louis nodded because what else what he supposed to do? And what did she mean by 'out of his depth'? 

Matron smiled at him, seemingly relieved and opened the door. Louis stepped in first but he stopped dead when he saw the sight before him. The lounge was the same as Niall's and Liam's but while theirs was in pristine condition, this one was in…shreds for lack of a better word. The curtains seemed to have been sliced through with a knife, the tv was on the floor, screen smashed and there, sitting huddled on the floor near it was a boy with a small pen knife gripped in his hand.

He had his arms wrapped around his knees, head hidden by a waterfall of curls that stopped just short of his shoulder. 

Louis was actually speechless. Matron stepped up behind him and he was surprised when, instead of an exclamation of shock, she just gave a tired sigh.

"Oh Harry. Bad day again?" she questioned and the figure's hair moved in what might have been a nod but he didn't raise his head to look at her.

She walked towards him, slowing down when she was a few steps away and knelt on one knee.

"Harry? Can you give the knife to me, love? You know you're not meant to have that with you".

Louis thought the boy hadn't heard for a minute but then he moved his hand, placing the knife down beside him.

"Thank you", Matron reached over and took the knife, slipping it into her pocket before standing.

She turned to Louis, an apology clear in her eyes.   
"I'll get the cleaners to sort all this out right away", she gestured towards the room. "But in the meantime, you can get settled into your room".

"Uh..yeah. I'll just…yeah, I'll do that", Louis stammered, suddenly feeling incredibly apprehensive about sharing this room with what appeared to be a mentally unstable person but the Matron didn't seem to be worried.

Louis noticed the figure in the corner look up at hearing an unfamiliar voice and he found himself looking into the confused gaze of the boy they called Harry Styles.

He was, Louis noted, quite handsome, with his dark curls and well-shaped features. But what held his attention were the dark green eyes, now filled with something that resembled fear.

He looked as if he would start to cry or perhaps shout, any moment but when he spoke, his voice was controlled and quiet and his face was oddly devoid of any emotion. Almost as if he were wearing a mask.

"Who is he?"   
Louis' jaw dropped open. Was this kid actually acting like Louis wasn't standing right there?

Matron, on the other hand, seemed thrilled that he had spoken at all!

"This is Louis. He's going to be your new roommate", she said with a smile. "Louis, this is Harry. Well, I'll just leave you both to get to know each other ".

She gave Louis one last smile, cast a look towards Harry that seemed to be a mixture of concern and warning before closing the door behind her.

And suddenly, Louis was aware of Harry staring at him. Studying him with the same fascination one might study a lab specimen. His face was still blank.  
Louis didn't know why exactly but that irked him. 

"Take a picture. It lasts longer", he snapped out but Harry just gave a small frown, his face still smooth and empty.

"What's your last name?" he asked.  
Louis considered not answering but then he thought, why not? It was an innocent question after all!

"Tomlinson", he answered.  
"I don't like it", Harry said, standing up and stretching his limbs. He was much taller than Louis had expected and he stared for just a second too long before looking away. 

"Tomlinson", Harry said again, as if testing out the name. "I don't like it at all. So…plain".

"That's rich coming from someone called Harry", Louis retorted, feeling his temper spike. "Let me guess? It's short for Harold?"

"No", Harry looked at him again, his eyes cold, face still blank, "It's Harry. And I happen to like my name a lot'.

A statement without any emotion, Louis thought. And once again, he found himself annoyed by it.

"Well that makes one of us", he answered, moving towards his own bedroom.

"I don't want you living with me", Harry's voice cut through the air, suddenly louder and the closest he had come to expressing any emotion. "I don't want a roommate".

Louis let out a small laugh, more to dispel the tense hostility than anything else. Harry obviously hated him and he was making that plenty clear. Was it even possible to hate someone on sight? Apparently so.  
He turned back to face Harry.

"Why not?" Louis asked, his curious nature taking over. What was the deal with this guy?

"I don't have to give you a reason. I just met you", Harry's eyes were boring into his but his face was completely impassive.

" _You_ could always move out", Louis offered.

"I was here first. This is _my_ room", Harry said, his tone neutral despite his words. If Louis hadn't seen the state of this room, he would have honestly thought Harry never felt anything. That emotions were a foreign thing to him.  
A mask, Louis reminded himself. What had Matron said? He was having a hard time?

"I'll try to stay out of your way then", Louis said, attempting to make peace.  
"I don't want a roommate", Harry repeated as if this had all been Louis' idea.

 

And Louis had heard enough. He had kept his temper under control for as long as he could but this guy just kept getting under his skin!

"That's just too bad, Harold", he said, purposely using the name and smirking as he saw Harry's lips press together.  
That annoyed him, did it? Good. Nice to know the kid had the capability of human emotion within him. "It doesn't look like you have a choice".

He saw something flicker in Harry's eyes, a spark of something behind the hostility and coldness of his gaze but then Harry turned away, stepping gingerly over the broken tv screen and heading to his own room. He walked slowly as if not entirely sure of his destination.

"Hey!" Louis suddenly called out, feeling bold. "Why did you destroy this room?"

Harry looked back at him with a frown, face still blank and eyes slightly wary.   
"What do you care?" he asked.

Louis shrugged. "Just wanted to know", he nodded towards the broken television, "So I can work my tv schedule around it".

Harry's lips twitched into what might have been the beginning of a smile but then he looked away, entering his room.

Louis sighed, turning back around to enter his own room when he heard it. The voice was so quiet, Louis almost missed it.

"Get used to it, Tomlinson".

By the time he looked back, Harry had already shut the bedroom door.

As Louis went into his own bedroom (that was thankfully clean and as spacious as Liam's), he found his thoughts occupied by his new roommate. His new roommate who apparently didn't want him there. 

Well, the feeling was mutual, Louis thought.

He was a strange boy, Harry Styles. Who obviously made a habit of destroying furniture if Matron's reaction was anything to go by. Louis just hoped it wasn't a daily occurrence! 

Imagine missing the elimination episodes of the X Factor! Louis didn't think he could live through it.

Why did Harry act like that?  
Not just destroying the place but close himself off from people? Hate others on sight? Louis felt a shiver run up his spine as he recalled the blank expression Harry had worn during their brief conversation.

Louis sighed, wondering if he had given Liam long enough to get settled and if he could head over. He was thankful he had at least one friend in this place because Harry Styles certainly didn't look like he was going to be even an acquaintance much less a friend!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I changed the summary of this fic a little bit (if anyone cared) because this story seems to have a mind of its own and isn't sticking to my original plan.  
> I still promise it'll be good (fingers crossed!)
> 
> Thanks for all the kudos and comments on the last chapter. Hope this one meets your expectations!  
> Love to you all <3 xx


	3. Strange Interactions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Louis vents to Liam about his roommate and witnesses a strange interaction.

"Don't worry about it, Tommo", Liam gave Louis a hug as he lounged on the couch. "I'm sure your roommate will warm up to you".

"I don't think he will", Louis sighed, running a hand through his hair. It was only his second day here and Louis was already spending more time in Liam's room than his own. 

Because his room had the walking, emotionless phantom known as Harry Styles. Seriously, the guy hadn't spoken to him since the day they had met and Louis didn't know why it bothered him so much but for some reason, it did. People did not ignore Louis. That just never happened!

"It's just weird. I live with the guy but I see you and Niall more often".

"Seeing Niall a lot isn't that big an achievement, really", Liam pointed out, "He's a social butterfly. Only been here a week more than us and already knows every human being in the school, including the Chef. I strongly suspect that's so he gets extra helpings at dinner".

"You're lucky you've got such a nice roommate", Louis sighed, "I'd swap you any day".

"I'm sure Harry's nicer than you think", Liam, ever the optimist, said. "Maybe he's just homesick or something?"

Louis doubted someone who had been at boarding school since the age of thirteen would be homesick but he didn't comment on it.

"I don't know why he hates me though", Louis whined instead, "I haven't even done anything to him and he straight out told me he doesn't want me there!"

"Is it bothering you that much?" Liam asked, a note of worry in his tone. "Because if the guy's being a bully or something…"

"No. No, it's not…he isn't. It's just…there's something weird about him. I don't mean to judge or anything"Louis added hastily before Liam broke out his 'A judgemental world is a sad world' lecture. "But he hasn't said a word to me since yesterday. His door's always closed and I actually haven't seen him at all, except during meal times. Did I mention he was up at 3am this morning? I could hear him opening the front door. Who even gets up at that hour?"

"Maybe", Liam said, "He went early to the library to get some study done. It's actually not a bad idea, that".

Louis rolled his eyes. Of course Liam would say that! Studying was of the utmost importance for him but somehow, Louis doubted Harry was going to the library. 

Louis considered telling Liam about the broken television set and the slashed curtains but then held back, the same way he had the day before. It seemed wrong, somehow, to tell even Liam about something that was clearly Harry's personal thing. Louis almost felt as if he had intruded by walking in during such a moment. 

Also, Liam had a tendency to worry over the smallest things and having a potentially psychotic roommate didn't exactly classify as 'small'. The last thing he wanted to do was drive Liam to have a mental breakdown over his worry for Louis' wellbeing. Besides, Louis reminded himself, it's not like Harry had done anything of that manner again. Their room was knife-free (as far as he knew) and the new curtains were still hole-free. He counted that as a positive start.

"Maybe I'm just taking this too much to heart", Louis finally said, "I'm still a bit homesick and I just, you know, want someone to talk to".

"You've got me!" Liam immediately said, "And Niall. Even though he's hardly ever here. I told him he may as well move his bed down to the music rooms already!"

Louis grinned.  
"I'm surprised he hasn't moved his bed down to the kitchens. Being a food tester could be his true calling!"  
Liam chuckled and murmured something that sounded like, "Tommo, be nice".

There was a few moments silence in which they stared at the television, Louis not really paying attention to what was going on, before Liam suddenly spoke again.

"Hey, this roommate of yours. He's not…I mean, he sounds a bit depressed or something. It's nothing to be concerned about though, right? Like, he doesn't have mood swings or anything?" 

Louis fidgeted, feeling like this conversation was getting a bit too close to the topic he wished to avoid. So he did what he did best. Made a lousy joke.

"Nah, he's fine. I just can't believe he's managed to withstand my charm for so long. I mean, I thought I was irresistible".

Liam laughed just as Louis knew he would. 

"You are, Tommo. If anyone tells you otherwise, they've got me to deal with". Liam winked at him, forgetting the issue at hand.

That made Louis grin. He was so glad that he had Liam at this school with him. When the two of them were joking around, Louis managed to forget about his strange roommate with the blank face and behavioural problems.

"Flattery and chivalry are indeed the keys to seduction, Payne", he smirked now, "But if you want to get in my pants, you'll have to use the magic word. And be my slave for a week".

Liam rolled his eyes and threw a cushion at his head.  
"Hate to break it to you but you're not my type", Liam grinned.

Louis clutched a hand to his chest, looking at Liam with an expression of mock hurt. "I'm heartbroken at that, I am!" he said, throwing an arm over his eyes, "To think, all these years of me being secretly in love with you, only to get rejected by…"

He laughed as Liam tackled him to the ground.

"You better not be making out over there!" a voice called out just as Louis managed to push Liam off him. They both rolled their eyes and Liam held out a hand to pull Louis up beside him.

"You know, Niall, just because we both happen to be gay doesn't mean we're in love with each other", Liam pointed out as the blonde-haired Irishman strolled into the room, a wide, carefree grin on his face.

"Rejected twice in one day!" Louis said, trying and failing to keep a straight face as Liam gave him a shove on the shoulder for good measure.

Niall shook his head, jumping onto the couch and grabbing the tv remote.  
"I've given up on trying to understand you two and your domestics", he said before looking up at Liam. "Can you get me a snack, Li?"

"There's a _rule_ that says we can only have snacks in the Dining Hall", Liam answered with a frown.

"What?" Niall gave him a look of confusion. "Says who?"  
"It's in the Student Handbook, Niall!" Liam gave a huff of exasperation. "I grabbed you a copy yesterday. You told me you'd read it!"

"That thing was bigger than my bloody textbook!"

"Well, there's no snacks allowed in the dorms. I threw out your chocolate stash, by the way. We're not breaking the rules in this room!" Liam walked into his room to grab his books, leaving a heartbroken Niall and amused Louis behind.

"Louis, tell me a way to get around Hitler over there. Share your wisdom. He's gonna make me starve!", Niall whispered and Louis grinned.

"Can't help you there, mate! Liam's a stickler for the rules. He'll be giving you lectures for not being a week ahead with your homework soon".

Louis laughed as he saw Niall's face- a perfect mixture of horror and anguish.

"That's it, Payne", Niall called out as Liam came back into the room, carrying a heavy textbook that he'd undoubtedly borrowed from the library for 'extra reading'. "I'm swapping roommates. Louis, move in".

"If it weren't for me, this place would be a pigsty", Liam said, "And you'd be in detention every day of the week!"  
Niall considered that for a second then gave a sigh.  
"Fair point. Sorry, Tommo. Can't have two slobs who are troublemakers in the same place".

"Hey! I'm not a slob!" Louis protested as he took a seat on the couch beside Niall. "Troublemaker, maybe. But not a slob. Can we watch X Factor? Pleeeease?"

Niall shook his head firmly.  
"Nope", he answered, ignoring Louis' best pout with minimal effort. "If you wanna watch it so much, why don't you use the tv at your place?"

Louis pictured the broken television that the cleaners had removed. Another one had been ordered but it had yet to arrive, meaning Louis had missed all his favourite shows for the last two days. 

"It's broken", Louis said with a sigh, "We haven't gotten the new one yet".

"That sucks", Niall empathised before laughing at something that was happening on the screen.

Louis found his thoughts drifting back to his roommate. He hadn't realised it was possible to live together and not see the other person but him and Harry were doing a fantastic job of it. When Louis had gone down to breakfast today, Harry had arrived late, leaving him to wonder where the guy had gone to so early in the morning.

When the day's class was over, Louis had come over to Liam and Niall's under the guise of doing homework. Really though, he only wanted the company. He'd decided to only return to his own room after dinner, knowing it would be eerily quiet and Harry's door would be firmly shut.

In fact, other than the first day, Louis didn't think Harry's door was ever open. Not that he minded much as each time he saw Harry in the Dining Hall, he'd just stare at Louis until Louis was forced to look away, blushing for some unknown reason.

Harry Styles made him incredibly self-conscious and uncomfortable. That was just another reason to add to the list of why Louis hated him.

 

\------------------

 

One thing Louis loved about Stanford, that made all the boring classes and even dealing with Harry's silence worth it, was the food. Every meal he'd had so far was delicious.

Of course, he didn't love it quite as much as Niall who was stuffing his face across the table from him. But then again, he'd quickly discovered that no one could love food as much as Niall. How he managed to maintain his thin figure was a mystery with the amount that boy ate!

Louis wasn't sure what it was but something prompted him to look up and he felt his breath catch in his throat when he saw Harry.  
Stylishly late for dinner, it seemed.

He didn't seem to be in any hurry as he sauntered over to the plates and took one for himself. Louis watched him as he filled it and took his cutlery. Then, Harry turned around, eyes slightly narrowed as he scanned across the room. If he hadn't been watching him so closely, Louis would have missed the slight head tilt he made in someone's direction.

When he began to walk, it seemed like people shrunk back against their tables, keeping their gazes lowered as if simply meeting his would result in death. Alright, so the guy was slightly creepy and eerily silent, Louis thought, but he shouldn't garner that kind of a response. 

Liam was chattering away about how he couldn't wait for his first English class tomorrow, the homework assignment they had been given in maths(which Louis had completely forgotten to do!) and God knew what else but Louis' eyes stayed on Harry.

Maybe it was because he was such an elusive figure but Louis found himself studying the boy more closely. His features really were striking, despite the slight downward tilt of his lips and the tiredness in his face.

Harry made his way over to a table at the back and two kids that had been sitting there skirted out of the way for him, suddenly done with their meals. He sat there, with no expression on his face as he ate. 

Suddenly, the Dining Hall filled with chatter and whispers. Louis looked across to see Liam was still talking, not noticing the change in atmosphere and Niall too, seemed oblivious to it all, tucking into his meal with unfettered enthusiasm.

Then, Louis noticed the reason for the whispers. A boy, around their age, had stood up from one of the tables where he had been sitting, surrounded by a gaggle of students who were hanging on his every word. He was quite good-looking, with tan skin, warm brown eyes and hair that seemed effortlessly perfect. Like something out of a fashion magazine.  
He was obviously popular, based on the way everyone looked at him, a few blushing as he spoke or touched their arm.

Louis couldn't hear the words he said to his devoted fans but many of their faces fell as he walked away, obviously having bid them goodbye.

Some of them began to leave and, as a few passed by Louis' table, he heard one mutter, "Why does Styles always get his attention?" and another answered, "I reckon he feels sorry for him. Zayn's got such a good heart!"

Louis looked over to see that the boy he assumed was Zayn walking up to Harry. He placed a hand on his shoulder and gave it a squeeze, taking the seat next to him in a familiar manner. And Louis nearly had a heart attack when he saw Harry smile back. 

Alright, so it wasn't exactly a full smile so much as it was an upward quirking of the lips but it was by far the most emotion he had ever seen Harry display. Louis was just on the verge of concluding that Zayn whatever his last name is, must be Jesus himself to achieve such a miracle when he felt Harry's green gaze shift to his.

Oh shit! Louis knew he should look away, pretend he hadn't been gawking at them but he couldn't do anything for a few seconds, frozen like a deer in headlights as Harry's eyes stayed on him.

There was something intense about the look and it made his skin feel hot, as if he had been put on fire and not noticed. Harry leant over to whisper something in Zayn's ear but his eyes stayed on Louis and now, Louis could see he was wearing a small smirk. 

Louis tore his eyes away before his face turned red, turning back to Niall and Liam who had moved on to talking about Music class, the only class Niall seemed to take any true interest in.

His throat felt parched and he took a sip of water. How could someone just looking at him do that? He definitely hated Harry Styles.  
Louis stayed quiet for the rest of the meal and only risked glancing across at Harry's table at the very end. He had apparently missed him because the table was now empty, both guys having departed.

Louis excused himself from the table, telling Niall and Liam that he was tired. As he walked back towards his room, he thought about Harry Styles and that boy he had been sitting with- Zayn. They looked like they were friends but…closer? Were they a couple?

Louis found himself trying to remember as much of their interaction as he could, analysing it in his mind. Straight off the bat, he wouldn't say they were together- nothing about their interaction had suggested that but Zayn was obviously closer to Harry than anyone else here. Did he just feel sorry for Harry? Was that why he had sat with him?

Louis was so caught up in his thoughts that, as he closed the front door behind him, he didn't notice Harry's bedroom door was slightly ajar. He walked into his own bedroom, unaware of the green eyes that watched him through the slightly open door. It was only when Louis shut his door after having changed into his pyjamas that Harry shut his own. 

 

The curly haired boy lay down on his bed with a small frown on his face. Then he sighed and pushed his thoughts to the back of his mind, setting his alarm for 2.45am. He switched off the light, stared up at the ceiling and finally whispered a soft 'Goodnight' to the boy across the hall who would never know he had said it.

And that was for the best, really. Harry didn't want him to know. 

Ever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't thank you all enough for the kudos and comments you've been leaving me! If you have any questions about this story or any ideas you think I should take on board, please let me know in the comments :)  
> I love reading what you think and they motivate me to keep writing!
> 
> My updates might be a little bit slower from now on but I'll try my best to upload chapters on a weekly basis.  
> Okay…think that's everything then. Until the next chapter, love to you all <3 xx


	4. Flowers and a Kiss

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Limits are pushed. The unexpected happens.

Louis had almost convinced himself that Harry Styles didn't attend classes, that he was some kind of weird spirit who woke up at unearthly hours and only mingled with the human population during meal times.  
This was his third day of classes at Stanford and Louis was kind of looking forward to it, if only because he could _talk_ to people in class, something he wasn't afforded the luxury of in his own room.

 

Louis had made friends with a guy named Peter in his drama class; Liam was in his Maths class; Niall in his Music class and so, other than Art class, he was always with someone he knew. But this morning, he had gone into Latin very much alone, annoyed that Liam and Niall were in the same class together without him. He wondered if Martha the Bat (the two words were synonymous in his mind at this point) had done that on purpose. He wouldn't put it past her!

After an hour of complete and utter boredom, in which people were literally speaking a language he didn't know, he had almost been happy to experience his first ever English lesson at Stanford.

He grabbed a seat in the second to last row, at the corner, resigned to spending another class with no one he recognised in it.  
That was, until, a mop of unruly curls walked in. Shit! Being alone suddenly seemed a lot more appealing!

But wait…what was that? Were those flowers he had threaded through his dark hair?He realised he had been staring, a moment too late, when Harry's gaze met his.

Louis quickly looked down and snatched up his textbook, the only thing he had on his desk. He opened it, pretending to be deeply immersed in it while subtly hiding his face.

"You're strange", Louis nearly jumped with fright when he heard the deep voice coming from right in front of him. He peeked over his book to see Harry standing there, his face blank but something that resembled amusement in his eyes. This was the first time the guy had talked to him in four days and _that_ was what he chose to start off with?

"Excuse me?" Louis said in the haughtiest tone he could manage. Although, 'right back at you' seemed more appropriate at the moment!

"Why do you have your book open? Class hasn't even started".  
Louis flipped his fringe out of the way as he answered, " _Some_ of us like to be organised and prepared. I, personally, happen to be very interested in this subject".

He already felt the first tendrils of anger unfurling within him though he really couldn't explain, even to himself, why. Harry nodded and Louis resumed glaring at his book, feeling Harry move past him.  
He had just started to breathe normally when he heard Harry say, "You're holding it upside down by the way".

And, of course, the prick was right!  
Louis took a deep breath, willing himself not to turn red as he placed the book down on the table, a bit harder than strictly necessary.

"I meant to do that", he tossed over his shoulder. Seriously, the guy had flowers in his hair. Who was he to judge? For all he knew, Louis possessed the talent to read books upside down!

He didn't hear a reply so he assumed Harry must have moved elsewhere in the room, which was just fine by Louis! He wanted to sit as far away from him as possible!

 

But luck had obviously left Louis that morning because a few seconds later, he heard the chair behind him scrape back and he didn't have to turn around to know the person who had occupied it was none other than his roommate.

 

"We get to be classmates too!" Harry's whisper drifted up to Louis and it contained an almost childlike enthusiasm, so unlike his normal tone.  
Louis almost wanted to smile but he managed to maintain a sarcastic tone as he said, "Oh joy".  
Because, really. That was just great. Not.

 

 

Class started off as normal. Just like every other class at Stanford, the teacher stood at the front, told them what was expected of them by the end of the year and began to write instructions on the board regarding their work for the day.

And Louis was happy. He could forget about the strange boy behind him…at least until he actually read the instructions. 

'Act out Act 1, Scene 1 of Romeo and Juliet with a partner seated near you'.

Typical. They had to pick the book Louis did not currently have on him.  
He remembered seeing a copy of Romeo and Juliet on Harry's bookshelf in their room…well, it was in the lounge so it was both their bookshelves but Louis wasn't really much of a reader.

So now he had to find someone to share their book with, other than the person behind him who he knew for a fact had the book _and_ (if the condition of the paperback on his bookshelf was any indication) read it frequently.

Louis immediately turned to the person to his left, only to see he had already been taken by another guy and no amount of Louis glaring would change that fact.

He faced the front again, scanning the class for someone he could pair up with who had a copy of the book.

"Looking for me, Juliet?" Harry drawled and Louis swore he could hear a smirk. Just to check (obviously. It's not like Louis _wanted_ to see the guy! He hated him!), Louis turned around, arching an eyebrow.

"I'm not partnering with you, Curly", he said, staring at Harry's desk because those eyes were just…too green! "But _if_ I was, there is no way I'd be Juliet!"

"Yes you would", Harry replied, just as forcefully, a tone of annoyance tinting his voice. "I'm always the male lead".  
"So am I", Louis replied, refusing to back down. And screw the desk! He was staring into Harry's eyes, both of them at a stand-off, their glares acting like weapons. "And I'm better at drama so I get first pick!"

"You haven't even seen me act!" Harry's lips were set in a thin line.  
"Doesn't matter. You look more like a girl than me so you have to be Juliet". Harry blinked at him, seeming confused so Louis added, "Have you taken a look in the mirror lately? You have flowers in your hair!"

Harry's fists clenched at that and Louis had no idea why it gave him such satisfaction to see Harry reacting. Probably because they guy always acted as if nothing affected him, which didn't sit well with Louis, who had always had a penchant for a temper.

"Your hands are exactly like Juliet's", Harry snapped out, "All delicate and long-fingered. Very girly".

Louis actually quite liked his hands but that wasn't the issue here! Harry Styles was insulting him and he had another thing coming if he thought Louis was just going to take that quietly!

Louis scoffed. "Oh please! If we're talking about physical attributes here, let's start with your hair. Did I mention the flowers you're wearing? And isn't Juliet meant to have long, flowing locks? It's almost as if you were born for the part!"

"Who needs hair? Put a wig on and your face would look exactly like Juliet's!" Harry shot back.

"Face? Take a look at your legs, mate. You're practically Juliet come to life!"

"Yeah? Well, you'd look better in a dress!"  
"You'd look better in heels!"  
"Shut up!"  
"Make me!"  
"Maybe I will"  
"I'd like to see you try!"

"Mr. Tomlinson! Mr. Styles!" both their eyes snapped up to the teacher, who was glaring at them. It took a few seconds for Louis to realise they had practically been shouting at each other, their muttered conversation having escalated at a surprising rate. Everyone was staring at them and…yeah. Cue the blush of mortal humiliation!

He glanced over and almost smirked when he saw Harry was just as red, from embarrassment or anger- it didn't matter! The point was, he looked just as big an arse as Louis did at the moment and that just made this a little more bearable in Louis' world.

"Detention. Both of you. With Madame Grey".  
And just like that, Louis' happiness came to an end.  
He turned to gape at her, wondering what he had ever done to her to make her act in such a cruel manner! Sending him to Martha the bat was pretty much like sending him to the gallows…no. The gallows would be more merciful!

And detention? On the third day of term? His mother was going to kill him! That is, of course, if he even survived detention with Martha.

"But I…" Louis began but he shut his mouth at the teacher's glare.  
"This friday evening, you will both go down to Madame Grey's office for detention", she said, tearing off two red slips and giving one to each of them. "And for the rest of this class, you will return to your rooms and compose a 1500 word essay about why your behaviour was inconsiderate. I expect it handed in to me first thing tomorrow or you will have detention every Friday for the next month. Now, leave!"

She pointed to the door and, after the initial few seconds of shock, both Louis and Harry grabbed their books and bags and crept out, heads hanging low. They stayed silent until they entered their own rooms. Harry closed the door behind him and all hell broke loose!

"This is all your fault, you complete arsehole!" Louis shouted, throwing his bag on the floor but Harry's anger was just as strong, as if it had been pent up behind a dam and something Louis said had unleashed it. 

"Fuck you!" he yelled back, "If you had just _listened_ and not been a prick about it, we wouldn't be here!"

"Oh yeah! Why not? Just blame it all on me! Don't bother taking any responsibility for your own actions!" Louis heard how eerily similar to Liam he sounded but there were more pressing matters at hand.

"Go ahead! Act like a fucking saint! I've never gotten detention before. EVER! SO THANKS A BUNCH, TOMLINSON!" 

"SCREW YOU, STYLES!" 

If the Matron had been in her office at the end of the corridor, she would have heard their shouts from there and put an end to it but, as it worked out, she was out on an errand and all the students were still in class.  
So, Louis and Harry continued to throw insults at each other, uninterrupted.

Louis, looking for something to pick on, turned to the issue of the flowers.  
"What exactly are you wearing fucking flowers for? Trying to seduce the teacher?" 

"Shut up, Tomlinson!" Harry growled and his fists clenched. Flowers were a touchy issue, it seemed. Okay then.

"Make me, Styles!" Louis hissed back, eyes glittering with rage.

"I'm warning you", Harry's voice had gotten suddenly quiet, dangerously low. But Louis could feel the adrenaline rushing through him, fuelled by his anger and he felt invincible. Which, in retrospect, was probably stupid of him.

"You think you scare me?" he smirked. "Just cause you spend all your time holed up in your room and barely speak doesn't make you terrifying, Styles! It makes you sad".

"I said, shut the fuck up!"  
"And I said, fucking make me!"

Louis only had time to blink once before he felt the hard, warm body of his roommate collide with him. They force of it made Louis fall back against the floor, pulling Harry down with him. 

Louis kicked out, his hands snagging Harry's hair and pulling on it. Harry's bigger body covered his easily and fight as he did, it wasn't long before Harry's hands enclosed his wrists, pulling them up above his head and holding them down.

They were so close to each other now, Louis' chest flush against Harrys, his blue eyes glaring into Harry's green ones and, for the first time since he had met him, Louis could see true emotion in Harry's eyes. Mostly anger but it was mixed in with something…something that made Louis' breath hitch. His thoughts kind of left him at that point, along with the rational part of his brain.

Louis blinked up at him, suddenly conscious of how _big_ Harry was. He had always known that…he just hadn't completely absorbed the idea or been in a position to put it into perspective. But right now, enveloped by the bigger boy, Louis felt his heart race painfully in his chest. His body felt so warm against his own and Louis knew it was a bad idea, knew there was something wrong about the way his body was reacting to Harry's proximity but he didn't care.

His eyes fluttered closed, his body bending upwards slightly and he heard Harry suck in a breath.

"Shit", Harry murmured, his voice no more than a whisper and then Louis felt a larger mouth press against his own, hard and insistent. He knew he should pull back or slap Harry or something but Louis couldn't do anything more than give a small whimper, opening his mouth slightly as Harry's hot tongue licked his lower lip.

That seemed to be all the permission Harry needed for his tongue entered Louis' warm cavity, exploring every part of his mouth. His hands were still being restrained and, to Louis' horror, he found himself growing hard. 

He moaned as Harry shifted above him, accidentally rubbing their clothed groins together, making his back arch up in response and then, just as suddenly as the kiss had started, it was over.

Harry pulled back and Louis only spent a second being annoyed at the fact Harry seemed to have more self control than him, before realising that his roommate was standing and walking away…okay. More like running. Without a second glance back.

Harry shut his bedroom door and Louis heard the lock turn.  
He huffed out a breath, slowly pushing himself up into a sitting position on the carpet. He should be glad, Louis decided, that Harry had stopped the kiss because there were so many things wrong with kissing Harry Styles! But he couldn't completely ignore the small pang of disappointment he felt.

Oh yeah. And the fact he now had a hard-on that he'd have to take care of, didn't help matters much!

He grabbed his bag from where he had dumped it unceremoniously, intending to make his way to his own bedroom but his feet had other plans. He ended up standing just outside Harry's room with his ear pressed against the door.

It took a few moments before he heard Harry's voice, a quiet murmur, obviously in conversation with himself.

"I can't! It was a mistake. Doesn't mean anything. Not a thing…I can't…he's…no! Just…fuck!"

Louis didn't like the way his heart thudded painfully in his chest. But that was all it had been, right? Just a lapse of judgement on both their parts. It meant nothing. Just a channel for their anger, that was all.

Louis shook his head. Why was this even bothering him? It's not like he had _wanted_ Harry to kiss him. He didn't like him or anything…no! of course not! They hated each other!  
That much they'd established early on.

Louis hurried to his room, shutting the door. He spent the next hour finishing his essay, refusing to allow free reign to his thoughts. When he finally opened his door to go to his final class for the day, he was surprised to see Harry's door was open and the young man was leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed.

It was almost as if he'd been waiting for Louis when Louis had been expecting him to avoid him. 

"Tomlinson", Harry began slowly, tonelessly.  
Louis felt his throat go dry as he looked at Harry's face to see it had been wiped of all emotion, nothing like it had been an hour ago when he was holding Louis down and…no!  
Louis wasn't thinking about the kiss anymore!

"Nothing's changed", Harry said, his eyes as cold as ever.  
Louis straightened his back, fixing Harry with an equally cold look in return.  
"Good", he answered, "Let's just agree to forget…whatever that was".

"It was nothing. And it's already forgotten. I still hate you, Tomlinson", Harry replied and it should have made Louis happy but it didn't. He nodded anyway, turning towards the front door. 

"The feeling's mutual, Styles", Louis said, throwing a quick glance over his shoulder at Harry. He was staring at him, his eyes focused in such a way that it made Louis feel as if he were the only thing of value in the room and there it was again. That chink of emotion behind the coldness. That small hint of something that convinced Louis his roommate was human…at least, in part, despite the words he had said.

He turned away before his thoughts became too confusing and was just closing it behind him when he heard the whisper. 

It was Harry's voice (who else could it possibly have been?) but it was the tone that made Louis freeze

"Hate. That's the way it should be". 

Harry's voice cracked on the last word and Louis quickly moved away from the door, almost one hundred percent certain Harry hadn't meant for him to hear that.

But now that he had, his mind could think about nothing else other than those words and the curly haired man who had said them and what an incredibly good kisser he was because, try as he might, it was impossible to forget the best kiss he'd ever had in his life. Sometime between navigating the corridors and entering his final class, Louis Tomlinson came to the realisation that he might just be in a bit of trouble.

 

When Liam later told him, after hearing about his and Harry's fight in class (and when Louis told the story, if he had made Harry sound like a lunatic and conveniently omitted the kiss that had happened later, that was nobody's business but his own), that the first scene of Romeo and Juliet didn't actually involve either of the title characters, Louis felt even more idiotic. He had gotten detention fighting over a character that wasn't even in the scene they had been re-enacting!

And Louis might not have thought much of it, had he not later that night happened to see Harry's copy of Romeo and Juliet, which sat on their bookshelf, pages dog-eared and passages highlighted. There was no way Harry hadn't known the characters involved in the first scene! Not when he owned a well-read copy of the play!

So, the question became, why had Harry Styles purposely started a fight with Louis? It should have annoyed him but Louis found it didn't.

As he headed off to bed, he even thought he heard a small voice say goodnight but that was undoubtedly just his imagination!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First off, let me just say a huge thank you to all the amazing people who commented and left kudos on the last chapter! I love hearing your thoughts and I hope I answered the questions you had without giving _too_ much away ;)  
>  Seriously, your comments are so incredibly inspiring and keep me writing :)
> 
> So things are getting a bit more interesting now. I hope to have the next chapter up by next week (if the dreaded writer's block doesn't hit!). Until then, love to you all <3 xx


	5. The Fleeting Smile

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Louis learns a bit more about Harry.

If Louis had thought anything would change after 'The Kiss That Neither Acknowledged as Having Occurred', he was wrong. Harry had ignored him for the last week, barely even glancing his way in the Dining Hall.

In fact, if Louis hadn't known better, he would think Harry Styles had forgotten about his existence. But sometimes, he felt someone's eyes on him when he came home after classes and, although he never looked his way to check, Louis was certain it was Harry's. He had grown entirely too familiar with that gaze in the short time they had known each other, not that he would admit it to himself.

 

Louis was late this morning. He was so so late. His alarm hadn't gone off…or maybe it had and, in his sleep-filled daze, he had turned it off and went straight back to bed?  
Either way, he was extremely late. Martha the bat, who he had thankfully not had to see last week as detention had been moved to this coming Friday, would be only too delighted to extend his punishment by a month. While he was still freaking out over having detention, Harry seemed completely cool and collected about it, which made absolutely zero sense after the things he had said last week. But then again, nothing about Harry made much sense to Louis.

He cursed under his breath as he grabbed his bag, making sure he had everything he needed inside. He checked his watch for the time and realised he had five minutes before class started but not enough time to make it to breakfast. Which would have been okay, had it not been for the fact his stomach was already rumbling in protest.

"Yeah, well", he spoke to his depressed stomach, giving it a pat, "Don't blame me. Blame my brain for making me sleep in!"

"Talking to yourself is the first sign of insanity or so I've heard", a husky voice said and Louis whirled around to see Harry standing by their front door. He spoke so rarely that any time Louis heard his voice, it was like a shock to his system. A pleasant shock but nonetheless.

"You're late for breakfast", Harry added, voice monotonous as usual.

"No shit, Sherlock", Louis muttered, his face red with embarrassment. Trust his luck that the guy who he had seen neither head nor tail of for the last week would walk in while he was having an embarrassing moment.

Harry just shrugged and walked towards his room.

"Don't you go to any of your classes?" Louis asked causing Harry to pause. It was something Louis had been wondering for the last few days. Well, he wondered a lot of things about Harry Styles, especially after the event Louis had dubbed as the 'Kiss That Should Not Have Happened' but it was one of the few things he might actually get an answer for.   
It was a fair question too.

Louis hadn't seen him in his English class since the fight last week. He hadn't even seen him leave his room, except for meals and he was still debating the idea that Harry was capable of simply apparating to the Dining Hall without stepping out of his room at all. But he was also certain Harry left at crazy times in the early morning on whatever errand it was that he did. Louis never asked him about that because if he did, it would mean that he cared. And Louis did not care. At all.

He couldn't help but notice though that, occasionally, there would be flowers strewn over the floor, similar to those Harry had worn that day in English class. It was yet another thing he never enquired about because, if it had not already been abundantly clear to everyone, Louis did _not_ care about his roommate's weird hobbies.

 

Harry didn't answer his question for a minute and Louis was just about to conclude they had gone back to not talking and walk away when Harry spoke, his voice slightly deeper.

"I sometimes don't feel like it", he said.  
"And you get away with that?" Louis asked, incredulous because wasn't rule breaking in this place punishable by death, according to Martha? And was Harry really _trying_ to extend his time in detention?

"I still do all the work", Harry frowned slightly, pushing his curly locks away from his face as he turned to face Louis. "Smith brings me all the homework that's been set and he hands it in for me when I'm done. So it doesn't matter if I'm not actually in class".

Louis had a bunch of questions to ask but he settled for the least complicated.  
"Who's Smith and where can I get one?"   
"My steward. I'm not sure where he's from really. He's been with me since I was eight so…", Harry shrugged, as if this was perfectly ordinary.

Louis openly gaped at him at that, causing Harry's eyebrows to knit together.  
"What?" he asked, sounding slightly self-conscious.  
"Y…you have a steward? Like, a manservant? Someone who does stuff for you? Since you were eight?"

Harry nodded, his gaze still confused.  
"So?"  
"So", Louis flipped his fringe back, away from his eyes, "Not everyone can afford to have a steward. Just how rich are you?"

 

Harry shrugged, seemingly unperturbed by the question. He'd probably been asked it a lot in his life.

"I'm not rich. My family is".  
"Same thing".  
"It really isn't", Harry sighed but didn't add anything further and Louis didn't bother pressing the point. Something in Harry's posture told him it wasn't something he wanted to discuss.

This was good. They were having a relatively normal conversation, without insults or shouting. So, of course, Louis had to promptly go and ruin it.

"You're not gonna destroy the room again, are you?" the question slipped out before Louis could stop it and he mentally groaned. He had meant to say it in a teasing tone but it came out sounding rude. And nosy. Far too nosy for someone who wasn't supposed to care.

He saw Harry's face tighten.  
"I hate your name, Tomlinson", he said in answer and yes, Louis had kind of deserved that. He almost sighed in relief that he hadn't been met with stony silence as he had thought. This was still a, slightly more, salvageable situation.

"Sorry. That…it was a bit too personal a question" he said. Harry didn't respond so he continued, rambling the way he did best when in an awkward situation. "My Mum always says I'm too curious for my own good so…just ignore that question. And probably any others I ask because I ask a lot. Actually, just ignore me altogether. Yeah, that'll work out, right? You don't like talking much anyway, do you? And the kiss- no! That never happened…you know what? Just…never mind. I'm rambling. I'm not even sure what I'm talking about anymore. I'll shut up. I'll leave. Sorry. Again".

Louis grabbed his bag and slung it over his shoulder, avoiding eye contact with Harry as he felt his face burning. God. Why did he always humiliate himself like this? It was almost as if his brain stopped working when he was in Harry's presence and that was a disconcerting thought.

He moved past Harry, nearly reaching the front door when he felt a warm hand catch his wrist. A large hand, that enveloped his wrist so easily and Louis had only felt his touch once before but it was burned into his memory. 

He turned around to confirm it was Harry.   
Well of course it was! There was no one else in the room but the two of them. The better question was why he had grabbed Louis' wrist.

Harry was smiling and…Louis had to do a double take because Harry fucking Styles was smiling! And not even like the one he had seen him give Zayn in the Dining Hall last week.

No, this smile was, for lack of a better word, beautiful. Bright and humorous and it lit up his whole face, making him look younger. He wasn't sad or torn up or angry at Louis' stupid question. That instantly made him feel slightly better.

"I don't mind you rambling. It's quite funny to listen to. You do it a lot", Harry said slowly and Louis felt butterflies in his stomach though he had no idea why. 

"What?" Louis questioned, not knowing how else to respond. How many other times had Harry heard him? 

Harry shook his head and pinned Louis with an intense gaze that was softened by his smile.  
"You're a strange person", he said, completely ignoring Louis' question but that seemed to be a common theme with Harry.

Louis was speechless for a second. He could hear his heart speed up because was that an insult or a compliment? Obviously it should be an insult but with Harry, one never knew. 

"I'm flattered. You're pretty strange too", he managed to say and then wanted to kick himself. Why the hell would he say something like that? Seriously, he had to have a talk with his brain!

Harry shrugged and let go of his wrist. Oh. Louis hadn't realised he had still been holding onto it. He kind of missed the warmth…

"Everyone knows I'm strange", Harry said and the smile, the fleeting beauty of it, was gone, replaced by a nonchalant expression. Louis missed the smile. Was that weird? It was such a rare thing to see, after all!  
Maybe he just shouldn't over think this. Or just not think at all. Yeah, that'd work.

"Um..right, well. I should…got to go. Classes and stuff", Louis turned away and opened the door when he heard Harry's voice again.

"I still hate you Tomlinson", he said and somehow, this seemed to have become their regular go to farewell. It was only natural for Louis to answer with, "The feeling's mutual Styles".  
He threw in an eye roll for good measure as he walked out.

He shut the door behind him and made his way to class, both annoyed and exhilarated at the same time, chased by the memory of Harry Styles' face and his painfully beautiful smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to all you beautiful people for the lovely comments and kudos on the last chapter!  
> I hope you liked this one (even though it's a bit short!). Please let me know what you think.
> 
> Next chapter will be up around this time next week. Love to you all! <3 xx


	6. Living with Danger?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Niall tells Louis a bit more about his roommate...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I adore you guys!! Thank you for all the comments and kudos on the last chapter!  
> You've definitely deserved this one! Hope you like it <3 xx

"Tommo!" Louis looked around for the source of the voice and spotted Niall waving him over to a table. Beside him was Liam, his head buried in a textbook.

"God, mate. It's only the second week of class", Louis said once he got near enough to be heard.  
Liam looked up with a scowl. 

"Do you know how behind I am?" he answered and Louis noticed his pitch was slightly higher than usual, a sure sign of panic. "I've never learnt Latin before and everyone here knows it! I can't understand a thing in that class!"

 

"Welcome to my life", Louis said, "That's me in every class".  
Liam frowned.   
"It's not funny, Louis. You should be studying if you're struggling in class".

Louis immediately went for the diversion tactic and quickly said, "So, Latin! How bad is it?"

It worked because Liam groaned, placing his head on top of his book.   
"I have never struggled so much! Did I mention people can read it fluently? Fluently!"

Louis looked over at Niall who shrugged before stabbing a piece of chicken through his fork.   
"I heard they give you a passing mark if you're willing to pay a bit extra for it. So that's me sorted", he said and Liam looked absolutely appalled at the thought.

"It's not just about passing!" he glared, "It's about gaining knowledge! Latin's a beautiful language and…"

"You're just saying that 'cause a beautiful person spoke it in class", Niall smirked. Liam blushed and Louis' interest was immediately piqued.

"Who, what and when?" Louis asked, ignoring Liam's protests, "Don't spare any details!"

Niall, ever the traitor, leant in to whisper the juicy gossip, oblivious to the glare Liam was throwing his way.

"This morning in class, Liam met the Romeo to his Juliet, the Hamlet to his Ophelia, the chicken to his peri peri sauce", Niall chuckled and Liam's face now bore an uncanny resemblance to that of a tomato. "He heard Zayn Malik speak for the first time and he was entranced!"

"Zayn Malik?" Louis asked with a frown. Wasn't that the name of Harry's friend? "Who's he?"  
Niall grinned but Liam looked shocked. 

"Have you been living under a rock for the last eighteen years?" he asked, shaking his head in disappointment. "His mum's the biggest name in the fashion industry since…well, forever! He's held onto the title of Most Desirable Male Model ever since he turned sixteen! I've got a fucking poster of him in my room back home! "

"So he's a rich guy who's famous and kinda good looking. Your celebrity crush", Louis summed up and Liam looked to be in physical pain. 

 

"No, Tommo", Niall smirked, glancing at Liam. "He's the human personification of perfection. He's everything Liam's ever dreamt of, the subject of every wet dream he's…"

"Oh, shut up!" Liam slapped Niall on the shoulder before turning back to the now grinning Louis. "Zayn Malik is a fashion icon! I admire him, is all. It's not a crush".

"Whatever you say, babe. So I guess you don't care that he's right over there?", Louis smirked, nodding in the direction of the infamous Zayn Malik and his followers.

Liam turned his head around so fast he was in very real danger of getting whiplash.

Niall rolled his eyes as he said, "The guy's never seen by himself. The whole school practically loves him!"

"He's so sweet." Liam was smiling pathetically as he stared at the dreamboat, totally unaware of the lovestruck vibe he was passing off. "To spend so much of his time entertaining all those people".

"Yeah. Must be horrific to have such adoration thrown at you wherever you go", Louis said dryly but Liam didn't seem to notice. 

"I can't believe I never saw him before today. I didn't even know he went to Stanford!" he sighed, dreamily and Louis was about to tease him over this when Niall spoke.

"He's only here 'cause of his brother", Niall said, stealing some chips off Louis' plate before he could stop him. "He really loves that guy, though God knows why. Styles is the creepiest person I've ever seen. Doesn't say a word. Honestly. I've never heard him speak except when he's whispering to Zayn".

"Styles?" Louis asked and if his eyes were wider than normal, he had good reason. "As in, _Harry_ Styles? He has a brother?"

Niall nodded.  
"He was adopted by the Maliks. Never changed his last name though. But him and Zayn, they're real close".

That made Liam's gaze snap back up to Louis.   
"Wait", he frowned, "Isn't that your roommate's name?" 

Niall burst out laughing then stopped, seeming to realise that Liam wasn't joking.

Niall raised his eyebrows at Louis, his smile slipping off his face. "Tell me that was a joke. You don't actually have Harry Styles as a roommate, do you?"  
At Louis' nod, his face suddenly turned grim. It was odd to see Niall without his customary wide smile.

"Can't you change rooms?" he asked and his voice was so completely devoid of it's usual humour that Louis raised an eyebrow at him.

"Getting jealous are we, Nialler?" he teased but Niall shook his head, frowning.

"Seriously, Tommo. The last guy who roomed with Styles ended up in hospital".

"Hospital? Why?" Louis asked, hearing the slight panic in his own voice. Was Harry actually dangerous? Odd, slightly creepy- sure. But dangerous?

He thought of the kiss they had shared, the way he often caught Harry staring at him, the low roughness of his voice that made Louis' skin tingle in a pleasant way. Surely not dangerous?

 

Niall shrugged.

"Don't know all the details. It was three or so years ago. Me older brother was here at the time so I heard it from him but it's quite the horror story at Stanford. I'm surprised you two haven't heard about it yet. Harry would have been…about fifteen, I think. Greg, my brother, told me he was always so quiet. Just watched people and never showed any emotion. Never laughed or cried or anything, really. He just existed. It wasn't the kind of thing a normal fifteen year old would do. That's what Greg said. Anyway".

Niall lowered his voice and leant forward, Louis and Liam unconsciously doing the same.   
"He used to have this roommate, Nick, that everyone in school loved. Like, he was older than Harry and really popular. Not quite Zayn's level of popularity but pretty well known. He was on the football team. Wanted to become a professional player after leaving school. So apparently, him and Harry hit it off. Nick took him under his wing- went around telling everyone him and Styles were best friends. There were rumours they were a bit more than that behind closed doors. No one really knew anything for sure but then…"

Niall's eyes darkened as he got to the crux of the story. Louis waited with bated breath, his stomach suddenly queasy.

"One night, a couple of weeks before Nick's graduation, an ambulance showed up out of the blue, saying they'd gotten an anonymous call from this school and that medical treatment was needed in Room 40. Mrs. Sheffs, she was the Headmistress before Madame Grey, let them in and they found Nick lying on the ground, blood pooled around his head and a knife lying next to him. He was unconscious. They managed to get him to hospital in time and he turned out to be okay but he had a bit of memory loss and couldn't really tell what had happened. Mrs. Sheffs told everyone to go to bed and told Harry she'd be questioning him the next day, even though he claimed he hadn't been in the room all evening. But when she came up the next day, Harry had disappeared, like, just vanished. All his stuff was gone and Zayn was gone too. No one asked but people thought Harry wasn't going to come back. It was pretty much taken for granted that he was the one who had hurt Nick but after the holidays, he was back again and Mrs. Sheffs was never seen again. Madame Grey became Headmistress and she didn't know anything about the incident, of course. So Harry went back to being silent, Zayn acted as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened and things pretty much went back to normal. Greg heard that he'd been acquitted from attempted murder because Nick couldn't remember the details. Most people think that's bollocks and Harry's parents just managed to pay Nick's family off to drop the case. It's not like money's ever been a problem for them! And then Harry's parents came down here- had a long talk with the Matron and he was given the room all to himself. As far as I know, he hasn't had another roommate since Nick. Until now, that is".

There was a beat of silence after Niall's voice faded before Liam turned to Louis, grasping his hand from across the table in a firm grip, all thoughts of Zayn Malik forgotten.

"You have got to move out of there", he said and Louis could see the fear in his eyes. Fear for Louis. It was quite touching, really.

Louis laughed a little but it sounded weak, even to him. That story had shaken him up more than he cared to admit.

"Even if I wanted to Li, I couldn't. Matron said all the other rooms were full".

"You can bunk with me!" Liam refused to let go of his hand, face serious. "The bed's big enough".

"Yeah", Niall nodded, looking just as serious. "Move in with us, Tommo. It's not safe…with him".

"Oh, come off it lads! Your brother never saw any of this happen first-hand, did he? It's probably just some horror story people thought up 'cause Harry's a bit different".

He didn't know why he felt the need to defend him but maybe it was because the memory of that kiss still haunted his dreams. Or maybe it was because of his first ever meeting with Harry, when he had seen a scared and confused boy, sitting in a room with a knife in his hand, who had still put on a brave face.

He hadn't looked dangerous, despite the weapon. Just...helpless.

Niall shook his head slowly.  
"There's nothing wrong with being different", he answered, "But Styles is…there's something scary about him. Even you must've noticed how silent he is. I don't think you should stay there".

Louis was just about to answer when his eyes caught sight of the very person they were discussing. Harry had entered the Dining Hall, late as always. 

"Look at him", Niall whispered, catching sight of Harry as well. "Can't get an inkling of what he's thinking. Could be plotting to murder us, for all we know!"

Louis felt an irrational surge of anger come over him. Why was Niall being so horrible to Harry?   
Yes, Louis could admit he was sometimes a bit odd and the way he acted might not be classified as normal but he didn't deserve to be judged like this!  
Niall didn't even know him! 

Harry was now standing by the buffet table but, although he was looking, he didn't seem to be seeing the food. His hand lingered over the pasta before he shook his head and put back the empty plate he had taken. He ran a hand through his curls and turned around, about to leave. That was when his eyes caught sight of Louis.

They stared at each other from across the room and a flicker of emotion entered Harry's eyes, something that made them turn a shade darker. Then it changed and his face looked a bit softer, more innocent and more…fearful? It was gone as quickly as it had appeared, leaving Louis to wonder if he had imagined it.  
Because Harry wasn't afraid of him, was he? That made no sense! If anything, Louis should be terrified of Harry after Niall's tale. Not that he was, of course!

Louis watched as he turned away, exiting the Dining Hall, his steps hurried as if he had to get away right that second. Students parted for him as they always did and now Louis understood it was because they were scared of him. Or scared of the person he was rumoured to be. 

Louis shifted his gaze to see Zayn looking Harry's way, his eyes worried, ignoring the chatter of his fan club. 

At least one other person obviously cared about Harry. It made sense now that he knew they were brothers. He wondered how long ago Harry had been adopted? Had he grown up with Zayn or was it a more recent arrangement?  
Suddenly, Louis felt the need to know everything he possibly could about Harry Styles just to prove that Harry wasn't the person everyone claimed he was; that he wasn't dangerous.

What was it Harry was scared of? That made him stay silent with everyone except Zayn?   
And if Louis moved out, would that make it worse? Make Harry withdraw into himself even more and trigger whatever had caused that destructive rage on the first day?  
Louis shouldn't care. They weren't even friends but…well, he had kissed him. And it had been a kiss full of passion and longing and…shit!  
Louis was not falling for this guy! 

But he had witnessed the emotion in Harry's eyes, in his face, as they kissed. He had seen, in that brief moment, a glimpse into the boy he truly was, the one he hid from all the world for whatever reason.

And Louis found himself wanting to see that boy more often and find out the reason he was the way he was, no matter what it took.

"No", he didn't realise he had said it out loud until Liam made a questioning sound.

"No", he turned to his friends, voice more decisive. "No, I'm not going to move out. I quite like my room…and the company's not so bad".

Niall looked at him as if he were crazy, which he might have been- just a tad.   
"You've spent the last week doing nothing but complain about him!" he pointed out. 

That was before the kiss, Louis thought but out loud he shrugged and said, "Well, he's not that bad. You know- always quiet, minds his own business (gives incredible kisses- yeah, he wasn't going to say that one out loud!). It could be a lot worse".

"I'll remind you of that when you end up getting stabbed in the neck in the middle of the night!" Liam said it without a trace of humour, letting Louis know he was deadly serious about this.

"Trust me", Louis said, cutting off Liam from further protests, "Harry's not dangerous".

And, despite having absolutely no proof to back that up other than the fact he hadn't been killed in the last seven days of living with Harry and had yet to see any more knifes around (he'd be keeping a better eye on that!), Louis felt oddly confident about the statement.  
Harry wasn't dangerous…he couldn't be! 

He purposefully ignored the small voice in his head which pointed out that, for all Louis knew, he could be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So…who believes Niall's version of Harry's story? Did Louis make the right decision?  
> Let me know your thoughts and guesses in the comments! 
> 
> The next chapter will have a bit more of a sexual nature…be warned ;) Until then, love to you all <3 xx


	7. Roommate Encounters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Louis confronts Harry and finds out something about himself in the process.

Louis should have taken up Niall and Liam on their offer. He should have moved in with them when he had the chance because he had just realised, a few days after that conversation in the Dining Hall, just how annoying his roommate truly was. 

Louis hated Harry Styles. Hated how he refused to let Louis study in peace.  
He had politely requested he keep his music down to a minimum and so, obviously, Harry had done the exact opposite. 

 

Had it not been for the fact that Liam was so freaked out over their upcoming maths test and felt the need to barricade his room against all distractions (namely Louis), he would have gone over there to study. There was always the option of the library but…hell no! Why should Louis have to leave his own room because of some inconsiderate jerk?

He marched out of his bedroom, fuelled by anger and slammed his fist against Harry's door. 

"Styles! Shut the fuck up! Some of us have to work!"  
The only response he got was the music being increased to a near deafening decibel.

"Screw you, Styles!" Louis shouted, at the end of his tether. "Just because you have a fucking perfect, rich boy lifestyle doesn't mean you have the right to act like an arsehole! Open this door or I'm breaking it down!"

Not that Louis really could break it down even if he wanted to but wasn't that what people said when making a threat?

Miraculously, Harry's door opened and…  
Louis gazed upon what could only be described as an enraged Harry. His eyes were blazing, his face twisted in fury and…and…Louis had no fucking idea why he was angry because that was meant to be Louis' role. He felt a chill run down his spine as he thought of the story Niall had told him but he refused to be scared by some tale some idiot had thought up.

"You know nothing about my life", Harry hissed and a lesser man might have shrunk away with his head bowed. But not Louis. Because Harry Styles had no right to be angry when Louis had suffered through twenty minutes of trying to study through that racket he called music! 

"I know enough to know you always get your way with things and that's going to stop, right now!"

Louis didn't bother to think, just acted. He ducked under Harry's arm before he could slam the door in his face. Harry whirled around, eyes dark, mouth tight.

"Get out of my room", he snapped out.  
"What? Not going to offer me a cup of tea? Didn't your mother ever teach you...", Louis moved towards the stereo.

"Don't you fucking dare touch that, Tomlinson!"  
Louis ignored him, moving his hand to the 'off' button. 

"Don't you dare! I mean it!" Harry was breathing heavily but Louis didn't really care at this point. And why was there a bunch of crushed flowers on the floor, as if someone had been stomping on them? But with more important matters at hand, Louis ignored it.

"Just try and stop me, Styles", he smirked back as he turned the dial, cutting off the music.

Louis wasn't entirely sure what he expected to happen but the next thing he knew, his back was against the nearest wall, his arms pinned above his head and Harry was holding him there, his eyes blazing.

"I said, don't fucking touch it", he hissed, so close to Louis' face that he could feel his warm breath. Louis had never seen him like this. Never seen so much raw emotion in his eyes and face. And in some strange, twisted way, it gave him an almost unearthly beauty.

Harry's hands were tight around his wrists, keeping him locked in position(when did he get this strong?) and Louis knew he should fight or scream or something but he found he kind of didn't want to. What the hell was wrong with him?

"Apologise", Harry said, voice deep and rough, commanding.  
And Louis meant to say something along the lines of, "No one tells me what to do" but what actually came out was a soft whimper. He couldn't stop himself and he knew Harry had heard it when he pulled back slightly, arms still pinning him to the wall, and gazed at his face, clearly confused.

Louis knew his breath was coming out in little puffs, that his heart was beating three times as hard as normal and that his body…damn it! His pants were starting to feel a little too tight. This could not be happening!  
There was no way Louis was attracted to this jerk! Or this situation!  
Nothing about this was the least bit attractive and yet, as Harry increased the pressure on his arms, pushing his body more firmly against Louis', he couldn't hold back the small moan.

"Y…you like this?" Harry asked, his voice surprisingly quiet. If he was still angry, he was hiding it well.

"N…no! I don't in any fucking way…" Louis began but it was kind of hard to concentrate when Harry's body was pressed against his, the warmth of his larger frame travelling through Louis'.

He didn't realise he had closed his eyes until he heard Harry whisper, "You do. You really like this".

Louis took a shaky breath, trying to remember his current situation. And that he was in the room of the one guy he hated above all others.

"You're delusional, Styles", he managed to say and his voice only shook a little.

But Harry was smirking now.  
"Oh, am I?" he asked and then he stepped back, not touching Louis at all.

It was an effort for him to remain standing and he had to bite his lip to stop the groan of disappointment from escaping. 

"Alright then", Harry turned away with an evil glint in his eyes, knowing Louis' body was protesting the loss of contact. "You can leave now".

And with no music to disturb him, Louis really didn't have any reason for being in Harry's room…except a part of him, a very annoying, demanding part, didn't want to leave. 

Louis looked around, latching onto the first thing he could see.

"What's that?" he asked, pointing at the shoebox that was open on Harry's bed. The only thing he saw before Harry slammed it shut was what appeared to be a macaroni picture frame. Had Harry made that?

"None of your business, Tomlinson", Harry's tone was defensive, his voice slightly shaky. Apparently not in as much control of his emotions as he usually was.

And maybe that was why Louis turned towards the door with a quiet, "Okay".

He didn't like seeing Harry like this, seeing his normal arrogance gone and replaced with a cloak of…was it grief? Pain?

Louis had planned on walking out and back to his room. The plan had been to finish his homework before he got another detention on top of the one he already had. But he found himself pausing by the door.

"Hey, Styles. You know I'm right next door…like, if you need anything", Louis said, looking back at the boy on the bed. He nearly kicked himself when he realised how suggestive that had sounded and, judging from Harry's raised eyebrow, that was exactly how it had sounded to him.

"You offering, Tomlinson?" he asked with an almost cold smirk. Louis didn't know why that hurt so much. 

"No!" he almost shouted the word, "I mean, no. That's not…I didn't mean…it wasn't…just if you wanted to talk or…"

And while he was trying to stumble through an explanation, Harry's face changed from defensively cold to…was that a smile?

Harry was smiling. Not a happy smile exactly but it was a smile nonetheless.  
And Louis decided to just shut up. No, he did not enjoy sounding like an idiot but if that made Harry smile then- hell, it looked like the kid could use some happiness if he was reminiscing over childhood craft projects!

"I'll, um, I've got homework. Just keep the noise down", Louis mumbled before making as graceful an exit as possible, face still flushed red but secretly pleased he had made Harry smile. 

He was about half-way across the lounge when he heard him.

"Louis?" the soft voice made him stop and spin around. Harry was standing at the door, his eyes unbelievably soft and…wet. Louis felt his heart lurch at the emotions playing across them. 

"Thanks", he murmured.

"For what?" Louis' voice sounded hoarse, even to his own ears.  
Harry gave a soft smile, brushing the curls out of his eyes.

"For being my roommate", he answered before softly closing the door. Louis didn't hear the lock turn and there was no more music from Harry Styles' bedroom for the rest of the evening.

By the time Louis went to bed that night, he knew he had made the right decision by not moving. Harry's words had made him certain.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, thank you for all the kudos and comments on the last chapter :) You are amazing!  
> Hope you liked this one! Love to you all <3 xx


	8. Small Gestures

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Louis doesn't care about Harry...except he kind of does.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just wanted to say a huge thank you for all the lovely comments and kudos I've gotten so far!  
> You guys are honestly amazing! Hope you like this chapter :) xx

He didn't have a conversation with Harry again until two days later. It was breakfast and Louis noticed Harry hadn't come down for it.  
Ever since their conversation that day, they hadn't really seen each other except when Harry showed up for meals, late. Always late. What in the world did the boy get up to?

Not that it mattered, Louis thought. He didn't care if Harry got in trouble. Him and Harry weren't even friends although the stupid voice in his head kept reminding him they weren’t strictly enemies anymore either.

Louis basically ignored Harry while, at the same time, being keenly aware of his every move. It had always been hard not to look at him when he walked into the Dining Room but it was a lot harder now that Louis knew what Harry felt like, pressed against him, holding his wrists captive…  
But that meant nothing. Louis had not, despite certain parts of his anatomy disagreeing, been aroused! That had not happened.

Which was why he hadn't felt the need to tell Liam or Niall about neither the kiss nor what had happened in the room the other day. Because it had meant nothing and they just didn't need to know about it. They would get worried for no reason. No. Louis was all in favour of them remaining oblivious to whatever it was him and his roommate were.

Louis glanced around now and saw Zayn, who Harry normally sat with. He was laughing and smiling with a large group of people who were gazing at him as if he were God. The table Harry normally sat at, where Zayn would join him, was occupied by a couple of thirteen year olds.

Louis tried to ignore the fact Harry wasn't there (because it wasn't as if Louis was _worried_ at his absence or anything!) and focused on his friends. 

 

Liam was stressing about classes despite it only being the second week and he left early, saying he needed to check his homework over one last time before handing it in. Louis didn't miss the dreamy look he shot Zayn's way as he walked out, the other boy not even noticing.   
Liam had this uncanny ability for falling for guys who didn't feel the same- not that Liam had any idea how Zayn felt.

As far as Louis knew, Liam hadn't actually engaged in any form of actual conversation with Zayn, unless you counted the ones he made up in his head.

"How's Styles treating you?" Niall asked suddenly and for one horrible second, Louis thought he knew everything. Knew all about how he and Harry had kissed and how Louis' body was a traitor and heated up every time he saw…

"What?" Louis asked, weakly, his eyes shifting away from Niall.

"He's not gone crazy or anything, right? Hasn't scared you?" Niall clarified, concern radiating off him.

Louis nearly sagged with relief.

"No!" That much was true anyway. He hadn't been scared though he probably should have been. He was certain Harry had intended for him to be scared not turned on. "No, Niall. He's been…it's been fine".

Niall shrugged, apparently satisfied with the answer as he resumed his breakfast. Louis spent the next ten minutes alternating between thinking about Harry and consciously trying to _not_ think about Harry. The latter he had very little success with.

He wished Niall would hurry up and finish his breakfast so Louis could stop this vicious cycle in his head!

 

"You done then?" Louis asked finally, pushing his own bowl of cornflakes away. 

"Yeah", Niall nodded then gave Louis a grin. "Hey, you think I'll be able to sneak a couple of muesli bars up to my dorm?"

Louis gave a fondly exasperated sigh. Only Niall would consider breaking school rules for food.

"Even if you get it past Matron, you're not gonna fool Liam", Louis pointed out but Niall looked so excited at the prospect of having snacks, he chuckled and caved in. "But no harm in trying, right?"

Niall's smile grew wider and less than a minute later, he had yanked Louis towards the table where they kept the morning snacks, saying, "I knew there was a reason we were friends!"

"Yeah", Louis muttered, "We're both a sure bet for ending up in detention".  
Although, as Louis reminded himself, Niall had actually never gotten detention unlike Louis who was expected to report to Martha tomorrow. And thinking of detention made him think of English class, which made him think of Romeo and Juliet which inevitably led to him thinking of Harry so he pushed the thought to the back of his mind.

"Here", Niall grabbed a handful of bars and passed it to Louis, "Put some in your pocket too, yeah? It'll look less suspicious that way".

Rolling his eyes, Louis followed the instructions of the expert food-hoarder and they made it up to the A Block with no problems. As they got to the front of Niall's room, Louis gave him all the muesli bars, save for one.

"Can I have this?" he asked and Niall nodded. The fact he was willing to share food was a true testament to their friendship.

"Sure thing. I've got plenty", he waggled his eyebrows, stuffing the last bar in his pocket before opening the door.

"Good luck getting it past Liam", Louis whispered.

"Just wait", Niall grinned back, "I've got the perfect hiding place. He’ll never suspect a thing!”  
Louis shook his head as he walked towards his own room to grab his bag. If Niall thought he could get away with this, he seriously underestimated Liam's ability to discover rule-breaking. That boy could give a police hound a run for its money!

Louis unlocked his room's door and glanced over to see Harry's was still closed. He only hesitated for a brief second before he walked up to it. Why was he doing this again? He would undoubtedly regret it but…

He knocked and waited, trying to ignore the thought of the last time he had knocked on this particular door and what that had led to. There was a brief spell of quiet then he heard shuffling footsteps.  
"Smith?" Harry's voice asked, rougher than usual.

"Sorry. No stewards around at the moment", Louis replied, keeping his tone light because he had no reason to be nervous. No. None at all.  
He heard the lock slide open and then Harry was standing there, wrapped in a bath robe, his hair a dishevelled mess that still somehow looked charming and breathtaking. Which greater deity, Louis wondered, had decided it was a good idea to make Harry Styles look like sex on legs? Louis stopped his track of thoughts as soon as he realised he was gaping.

"What are you doing here?" Harry asked, his eyebrows furrowing and really, that was kind of adorable. His nose was red, as if he had a cold and…stopping track of thoughts once more. Was this a side-effect of having had the guy's body pressed against his own?

"I live here", Louis pointed out, clearing his throat, his voice only wavering slightly. Not a bad effort considering he was still reeling from the effect of Harry’s…looks. Yes. Louis was proud to say he was cool and collected.

He held out the muesli bar he had taken from Niall. "I noticed you weren't at breakfast so I thought…I wasn't sure if you'd eaten anything so…um….here".  
So much for cool and collected. 

He practically pushed the muesli bar into Harry's hand (and he still couldn't quite believe just how large those hands were!) and turned around, already thinking he'd made a mistake. Why the hell would he get him a muesli bar?  
What if he didn't like them? What if he was allergic? 

Since when did he even care whether Harry Styles ate or not? Why was he such a damn good person?

"Louis?" Maybe it was the sound of his name from Harry's mouth but Louis stopped. He turned around, keeping his gaze on the ground, not quite sure what to expect.

"Thank you".

Louis looked up at that and he nearly stopped breathing as he saw Harry's face flood with something else. Something softer.  
It wasn't lust or anger or mockery. It was just…gratitude. Pure and simple.

"It's no big deal", Louis answered, not entirely sure why someone who had their own personal steward would be thanking him for something so small. "Just a muesli bar. I wasn't sure if you'd like it…"

"I do", Harry interrupted and his eyes were wide, as if convincing Louis of this matter was of the utmost importance. It made Louis smile just a little bit and then frown because what was with Harry and his mood swings? Hating him one minute, kissing him the next, hating him again and then looking at him as if he were the sun? Louis just couldn't keep up with this complex creature known as Harry Styles.

"And just…thank you", Harry said again, "Thanks for noticing I wasn't there".

"Ah…yeah. Sure. No problem", he answered, although he honestly wondered how _everyone_ hadn't noticed Harry's absence. Surely it wasn’t just Louis who was aware of Harry’s occasional disappearances, right?

Harry turned away, as if to close the door when Louis spoke again, not quite ready to let him go back to ignoring his existence.

"Um…are you…is everything okay? You're not sick or anything?" Louis shouldn't care. He should just walk away right now. Before he ended up looking or sounding like an idiot.

But Harry was smiling and it was just nice to bask in it for a few precious moments.

"I'm not sick", he said, softly, "But I don't feel up to coming to class".

Louis wanted to know more but he knew this was something personal and it was Harry's right to keep it that way.

So he just nodded and grabbed his bag, giving Harry a smile as he walked off to class, the sound of Harry’s voice still in his mind. It was pathetic really, Louis thought, how he couldn’t seem to keep his mind off Harry Styles when he was supposed to hate him. Harry seemed to have no trouble whatsoever at ignoring him! 

Louis had no way of knowing that Harry stood there, muesli bar in hand, for fifteen minutes after Louis had left, reliving the short conversation they had shared. And he wasn't around to hear Harry sigh and whisper to the empty space, "If only you knew, Lou".

But it was better he didn't know. It was better nobody knew. Harry worried his lip between his teeth as he returned to his room and the shoebox he had been sorting through. 

Yes. Better nobody knew.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter reveals a little bit more about Harry :)  
> Please let me know what you thought of this one. Your comments brighten up my day! 
> 
> Until the next update, love to you all <3 xx


	9. Detention Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Louis and Harry have detention but it ends in a way Louis does not expect.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Firstly, another huge thanks to all you amazing people for the lovely comments and kudos on the last chapter!  
> Every time I start doubting myself and the direction this story is going, I read your comments and I'm hit with inspiration again. Honestly, I owe you all so much! x
> 
> Unfortunately, I have exams and things coming up so I won't be able to update for a while. Sorry :(  
> So I had no choice but to make this chapter EXTRA long to help tide you all over until the next update lol. Hope you like it :) xx

Louis had been standing outside the familiar door for the past ten minutes, unable to convince his disobedient hands to knock on it. He had good reason to fear this particular door because it was the only thing standing between him and the dark intents of Martha the bat.

In other words, it was detention night.   
While Liam and Niall were playing video games (okay…Niall would be playing. Liam was studying and obsessing about Zayn Malik, his "not crush!" as he reminded them daily), Louis was stuck with his two least favourite people in the world. 

Martha and Harry. 

He had yet to decide which was lower down on his hate list. Possibly Harry but the prick _had_ been ignoring him ever since their conversation at the beginning of the week…not that Louis cared. Well, maybe a little bit. 

Was it too much to expect that his roommate, who stared at him in a creepy manner with no qualms about it, sometimes hold a conversation with him? Just so he didn't entirely forget how to use the english language!

But right now, he had bigger problems to worry about. Like detention and his chances of survival in it.

"Okay. I've got this", Louis muttered to himself, trying to gain the courage to knock. "She's not Satan. Close to it but not quite. She doesn't have magical powers…at least, none that I know of. Vampire bats aren't real. You can do this, Louis. Just knock on the fucking door and get it over with".

It took him three minutes to raise a fisted hand to the door. It took him half a second to change his mind and drop it, yet again. He was going to spend the next one hundred years of his life standing here, probably until he turned into a fossilised statue. Maybe people would worship him then? That was a nice thought, certainly more appealing than facing his death by confronting Martha. 

"Tomlinson", the voice startled him out of his thoughts. It was a voice that had gotten far too familiar for him to not recognise and Louis had to close his eyes and take a deep breath before he turned around.

As expected, Harry Styles was standing there, leaning against the wall, an eyebrow raised.  
Fine. So maybe Louis sounded slightly crazy talking to himself but so what? He was allowed a minor breakdown when he was about to face the real life equivalent of the Wicked Witch of the West!

"Styles", he replied, just as evenly, attempting not to display his inner turmoil. He realised he'd done a poor job of it when he heard the next words.

"Need me to hold your hand?" Harry smirked and Louis turned away, hating his body for blushing so easily, his teeth gritted together. 

Amidst the haze of anger he felt towards Harry, he found himself knocking sharply against the door, a feat he had thought to be near impossible a few seconds ago. It was only when he heard the female voice inside say,"Come in", that he realised just how grave a mistake he'd made and was once again reminded of why he hated Harry Styles!

"Shit!" he muttered under his breath, his feet suddenly paralysed. He could almost imagine how this would play out. Martha would wait inside for a few minutes and then, upon realising no one was going to enter, she'd rouse herself out of her chair, an angry frown on her face. Then she would come marching up and open the door to see him standing there, pale-faced and blinking like a slightly deranged owl, at which point she'd either kick him out of school or give him a year's worth of detention. And it would all be Harry's fault!

Louis had almost accepted his fate when he felt a hand on his shoulder- a firm touch, a steadying pressure. It was comforting and supportive and just what Louis needed…and it belonged to his enemy. Typical.

"Come on", Harry leaned down slightly to whisper against his ear, his voice unintentionally husky. Louis had to bite his lips so he wouldn't shudder from the warm breath that caressed his earlobe. He wasn't going to give Harry the satisfaction of knowing he had any kind of effect on him! Especially when Harry had made it abundantly clear over the past few days that whatever had happened in his room that day, hadn't affected him in the least.  
Unlike Louis, who had been left hard and aching in one particular anatomical region.

"Trust me, Lou. It's going to be fine", Harry whispered again and Louis wasn't sure what to be more shocked by. The fact that Harry Styles was talking to him in an almost comforting tone or the fact that he had just called Louis a nickname. A nickname he kind of liked, to be honest, NOT that he would ever admit such a thing to Harry.

The moment felt altogether surreal and that, Louis later told himself, was why he simply nodded and didn't throw back a sarcastic remark as per usual. It was also why he slightly relaxed into Harry's touch instead of shaking off his hand.

Louis still couldn't move though, so Harry sighed and took him by the elbow, opening the door and leading them both in. Louis felt the warmth of his hand against his skin and a part of his mind (that wasn't occupied with bloodcurdling terror at the thought of facing the woman inside!) dimly registered it was a pleasant feeling.

 

"Darling Martha!", Harry said the moment she spotted them. Louis looked at him in surprise, his smooth tone of voice entirely out of character with how he usually was. Also, had he just called her _darling_? What happened to Madame Grey? Why was she not glaring at him in hatred?

"Harry? What are you doing here? How's your family?" Martha seemed confused but she gave him a smile, a proper smile, almost like the one she had given to Liam when they had first arrived. Once again, where was the hatred? The loathing? Or was that something she reserved specifically for Louis?

"They're great, thank you", Harry's tone was velvety and (in Louis' mind), slightly seductive but Louis could see his roommate's eyes were still emotionless, as if he were simply playing the role he was expected to. "Dad hopes to come up and take a look at the new rooms you've had renovated".

"Of course! Yes, at his earliest convenience. It'd be an honour to have Mr. Malik pay us a visit. And, uh, will he be spending the night here?"

"It's a possibility", Harry answered and Martha's smile seemed to turn up a notch. 

"Oh. That's lovely! I'll make the necessary arrangements”. 

"I'm sure Dad will appreciate that. He often says you're the best Headmistress Stanford's ever had", Harry replied and Louis almost cringed at the obvious flattery but Martha seemed to be lapping it all up. Until she turned to Louis and- oh yes, there was the spark of hatred he was familiar with. 

"Is Mr. Tomlinson bothering you in any way, Harry?" she asked and Louis' mouth dropped open. Excuse me? What was even happening here?

"He has quite the record for troublemaking", she added. Wait…wasn't there a confidentiality agreement or something? Could she just say stuff like that to another student?

"Oh really?" Louis could practically hear the smirk in Harry's voice and had to grit his teeth to stop himself from reacting. "I had _no_ idea". Louis really didn't want to know what he was planning on doing with that information!

"But no. He's actually been an amazing friend!" Harry said and this time, Louis really did gape at him, in a fashion similar to a fish out of water. Did Harry Styles just say he was a friend? Did those words actually come out of his mouth? 

"Oh?" Martha the bat was clearly as disbelieving as Louis was.

"Yes, he's been nothing but charming", Harry gave him a sidelong glance, the hint of a smile touching his lips, "A delightful companion! I couldn't have asked for a better roommate. I just hope I don't bother _him_ too much!"

Something in his tone made Louis blush and he quickly looked down at his feet, the words 'delightful companion' and 'charming' still echoing in his ears. 

"That's…surprising", Martha finally said and Louis really wanted to wipe that smirk off her face. Was she trying to imply that Louis wasn't delightful or charming? Well, screw her! She knew nothing about him!

"Not surprising at all, really. Louis' an absolute darling!" Harry said cheerfully and Louis was on the verge of checking himself into a mental hospital. Because this could not actually be happening! He glanced at the window, almost expecting to see a pig fly or see Niall dressed as a leprechaun, both of which were more likely events than Harry Styles complimenting him, even if it was just for show. 

"Well, I really hate to bother you Martha but I need a favour", Harry continued, his voice silky,”You see, we were given detention last week in English and…"

"Oh! My sincerest apologies, Harry! She's a new teacher. She doesn't know about you and Zayn. I'll have that oversight rectified immediately".

"Not a problem…”

"I'll just sign it off for you and I'll make sure it doesn't happen again. I truly am incredibly sorry for any inconvenience!", Martha seemed to be in a panic frenzy before Harry had even finished the sentence, holding out her hand for the red detention slip. Wait…weren't they supposed to complete detention and _then_ get it signed?

"Thank you ever so much", Harry replied with a grin that had his dimples coming out. Shit. He had dimples!  
The universe was obviously trying to punish Louis for some horrible sin he had committed in his past life. That was the only explanation as to why the guy he was meant to hate with a passion had fucking adorable dimples that were, on no count, hate-worthy!  
And why did Harry look so good today? Those jeans suited his figure too well and damn it, Louis was only human!

Harry handed over the red slip and Louis watched, in awe, as the most powerful figure in the school signed it off with no hesitation. Maybe he had been wrong. Maybe she wasn't the most powerful. Harry obviously had a lot of influence in this place for whatever reason. Maybe because his family was famous? Or rich?   
Schools like Stanford cared about things like that, Louis was sure.

 

Then Martha turned back to Louis, her eyes dangerously cold with, what could only be described, as a vengeful joy shining in them. Louis had no doubt she had just been waiting for him to get into trouble to exact her revenge for his attitude towards her on the first day.

He wasn't _scared_ or anything…but he moved a little closer to Harry, wishing he could hide behind him just so she wouldn't keep staring at him. The woman had terrifying eyes! Even Dracula would have been frightened of them. Harry seemed to sense this for he pulled Louis a bit closer, his arm lightly resting around Louis' waist. And for once, Louis didn't even think about complaining, didn’t even consider how strange a gesture that was for two people who hated each other.

 

In fact, almost embarrassingly, he leant into the touch slightly, incredibly grateful that there was a solid body there to catch him if he were to, hypothetically speaking, faint or have his knees give way or something.

Martha had opened her mouth, undoubtedly with the intention to lash out at him but upon seeing Harry's gesture, she changed her tactic.

"Mr. Tomlinson, I will have to reschedule your detention for next Friday. I'm a bit busy at the moment", she said with a bright smile as if Louis couldn't see right through it. She just wanted to get him alone so she could put him through whatever convoluted tortures she had planned without a son of the Malik family acting as an eye-witness.

He wanted to protest but his tongue seemed to be stuck in his mouth as she gave him a wide grin, like the proverbial cat who ate the canary.

"I don't think that's quite fair", Harry's voice said and Louis looked up at him to see a small frown had appeared on his face. "If I'm excused, he is too".

Only Harry Styles could possibly make demands of Martha the bat and not be thrown in a dungeon for it. Louis found himself begrudgingly admiring the guy.

"I understand your concern, Harry but you see, Mr. Tomlinson has a past history of trouble. Encouraging such behaviour is…”

“I don’t believe someone’s past should be held against them”, Harry answered, unwavering.

 

“Well, yes”, Martha tried again, “That’s very true but he’s enrolled in out correctional program for behaviour management. This is the only way he will learn, once and for all, that Stanford does not tolerate such blatant disregard for the rules. Your father would want me to maintain the reputation of his school, after all!"

Great. Louis was doomed. Not even Harry could get him out of…wait- did she just say _his_ school? As in, Harry and Zayn's father owned the entire school!?

“Do you know what I think?”, Harry said the words quietly but his tone had changed. It was low and dangerous, the tone of one who knew his power and wasn't afraid to wield it.

"I think", he said again, making sure Martha's attention was firmly on him, "That my father would be sorely _disappointed_ if he thought my friend, a fee-paying student of this fine establishment, was being treated unfairly by a member of his staff. Especially by a member he holds in such high regard”.

Louis got some satisfaction out of seeing Martha pale visibly.

 

"I would hate to bring such a small matter to his attention, of course", Harry continued lightly, as if he were now talking about the weather and not Martha's future at Stanford. "But I don't like my friends getting unfairly punished. Dad would agree. So if you feel Louis deserves detention then it’s only fair that you give me detention too”.

Martha's mind was working at the speed of light, Louis could tell. She was weighing up the pros and cons of the situation but she must have decided that Louis wasn't worth drawing Mr. Malik's wrath upon her for when she spoke, her voice was almost gentle, pacifying.

"Not at all! I'm sure there was some mistake with the teacher. I'll talk to her, personally, to make sure such a misunderstanding doesn't happen with you- either of you again", she added at Harry's pointed look, “My apologies for the trouble". 

It took Louis a moment to realise Harry had pulled the detention slip out of Louis’ back pocket and had passed it over to Martha, who signed it with an obviously fake smile directed at Louis. It almost seemed painful. Good.

"Well then! Thanks for your time. We'll just be on our way now. Have a lovely evening!" Harry gave her what could only be described as an angelic smile before sweeping out of the room, pulling Louis with him.

He heard Martha call out a, "Give my best to your parents!" but Harry didn't even bother glancing back. It took Louis a minute to gather his thoughts before his curiosity caught up with him.

 

"Your father owns the school?" he asked as they made their way along the corridors, which Harry seemed completely familiar with. Louis still couldn’t find his way around this school without a map.

Harry's eyes swept over him briefly before he looked away and answered.   
"He owns a part of it. He's one of two partners".

"Who's the other?" 

Not that it was any of his business but Harry seemed in a divulging mood for he said, “Zayn”.

And Louis just had to stop. It took Harry a moment to realise Louis wasn't following but when he did, he turned around with an annoyed look.

"What?" he asked, exasperated.

"You just said…you said _Zayn_ owns a part of the school! He's what? Eighteen?"

Harry nodded, his expression now slightly bemused. "Yeah, so?"

Louis stared at him for a second before shaking his head. "Never mind".

He started walking again. "So Zayn owns a school".  
" _A part_ of the school", Harry insisted as if that really made any difference at all. Louis didn't even own a part of a television let alone an actual building!

"Right. So what do _you_ own?" he meant it jokingly, as a way of coping with the crazy news he had just been told.

"Why do you care?"

"I'm curious. Indulge me".

Harry rolled his eyes but his lips turned up slightly.  
"The Paris branch", he said simply and Louis, once again, stopped.

“Fuck me!”  
“Don’t make suggestions you can’t live up to, Tomlinson” Harry smirked, his gaze lingering on Louis in an almost predatory way. It should have made him blush but he was too caught up by the last thing Harry had said.

“P..paris branch?" Louis sounded incredulous, “Paris branch of what?”  
Harry gave a low growl of annoyance but, after a moment, he answered, casting a wary eye over Louis. "Stanford has branches in different countries. This is the biggest, obviously, but there's a branch in Spain, another in Paris…I can't remember the rest. Scattered all around the globe though and owned by various family members".

"I thought your family were in the fashion business?" Louis questioned, his curiosity getting the better of him. Harry looked as if he wished Louis would just stop talking but it was difficult to ignore him when he kept poking at Harry's arm, trying to get him to answer. This was the most interesting conversation Louis had had in a while and, perhaps more importantly, he hadn't blushed the entire time. 

That was getting to be quite a rare achievement when he was in Harry's presence. 

"That's mum's side of the family", Harry finally said, grabbing Louis' hand to get him to stop the incessant poking. Louis tried to ignore the sharp tingles that raced through his spine as Harry's fingers wrapped around his, concentrating instead on his words. "Zayn has an interest in it too. Dad just likes business in general. He's got hospitals, schools…lots of stuff. Now, can you please shut up?"  
He let go of his hand.

Louis nodded but a minute later he spoke again. Harry groaned in despair.

"And you? What are you interested in?"

"Nothing".

Louis poked his arm again until he elaborated.   
"Stop that! I mean, I'm interested in things just not the way the rest of the family are. I clap and cheer with the everyone whenever my Mum opens a new line of merchandise or hosts a fashion show but I don't really enjoy it the way Zayn does. And I've met all the big names in the business industry at my parents' cocktail parties but it's not something I love doing”.

"Then why do you do it?" 

"Because I'm part of the Malik family", Harry said it in a clipped tone, “And that comes with a lot of responsibilities that have to be lived up to, regardless of whether you like doing them or not”.

"Do you hate your family?"  
That made Harry stop and turn to Louis, eyes wide. Louis winced as he realised how rude that had sounded.

“Shit! Sorry. That’s not…I didn’t mean to say…”

But Harry was talking now, cutting Louis off.  
"What? No! Of course not! I love them! Zayn's my brother…I owe them. So much", he turned away but the words sounded honest enough.

It didn't make much sense to Louis but he nodded, deciding he was way out of his depth with this conversation.

After a moment of silence, Harry gave him a sidelong glance.  
"Are there any other burning questions you need me to address before this walk is over or can I actually think in peace now?" 

He said it dryly, as if he already knew the answer.  
And there were a thousand questions Louis wanted to ask as they walked up the stairs towards the A Block and the comfort of their room. He felt like if he started asking, he would never stop. There was just so much he wanted to know about his roommate. But the one that he blurted out was, "Am I really your friend? Or did you just say that to get me out of trouble?"

Harry was silent for a moment. Then he shrugged. 

"It was my fault you got in trouble in the first place", he said and Louis felt his heart grow slightly heavier.

"So everything you said in there was…it was because you felt guilty". Louis didn't know why this made him upset. He had known Harry would never say things like that. Hadn't he himself stated flying pigs were a greater probability than him being Harry's friend? So why did the thought that all those words had been made up hurt so much?

He was so caught up in his thoughts, he didn't notice Harry had stopped until he felt a hand on his wrist, pulling him back a step. He turned around to see Harry staring at him, biting his lip as if there was something he needed to say but wasn't certain about.

"What?" he asked but Harry stayed silent, choosing instead to interlink their fingers.   
"You're quite small", he said finally and it wasn't an insult. Just a fact.

Not that Louis appreciated it!  
"Your flattery knows no bounds", he said, sarcastically and Harry gave a small but genuine smile.

Louis was about to continue climbing the stairs again when Harry stepped up beside him, their hands still together.  
"Do you want me to consider you a friend?" Harry asked, shifting back to their earlier topic of conversation.

 

And, without meaning to, Louis found himself saying, "I want you to be honest with yourself”. It came out as a whisper and Louis knew he was blushing from the heat he felt on his cheeks. He had no reason to blush, he told himself but it was as if his body knew something his mind had yet to grasp.

He waited for Harry to pull away, to push past him and walk off but he only stepped closer. So close that Louis had to crane his neck back to look up at him.

And when he did, those green eyes were swirling with a storm of emotion. Louis wanted to know, wanted to watch those eyes until he could identify every single one of them but he stayed still, caught in the dark depths of them. He felt as if he were being given a precious gift- to be allowed to watch this moment when Harry was unguarded and…conflicted. He doubted many others had been afforded such a luxury.   
When Harry finally spoke, the words came out controlled, almost rehearsed.

"I still hate you, Tomlinson". 

And then his lips were on his, hard and insistent as if searching for something. Louis knew he should resist. It wasn't right to just let Harry kiss him and then walk away, acting as if nothing had happened. But Louis' body didn't want to listen to his mind and he found his hands tangling in Harry's hair, tugging it gently. He was dazed and annoyed and in heaven and hell all at once and the only thing Louis knew for certain was he didn't want it to end. Not just yet.

Harry moaned and the sound shot straight to Louis' cock. When Harry pressed him against the wall, covering his body with his own larger one, Louis groaned with need. Everything felt so incredibly right. Louis had never felt like this before and that should have terrified him but it just made him more aroused.   
The kiss was heated, rough and soft all at once, like a beautiful symphony that no words could adequately describe. Their lips moulded together, gasps escaping them as they explored each other's mouths. Harry's hands roamed over Louis, brushing over his crotch to make him shudder before settling on his waist. And god, it felt so divine Louis didn't want it to stop. 

He pulled Harry closer, twisting his fingers in his curly locks as Harry moaned into his mouth. Every touch of their lips was like fire, every brush feeling like a jolt of electricity and they were both breathless when Harry finally pulled back, pupils slightly dilated with lust and desire. 

Louis expected him to walk away, the same as the last time they kissed. But instead, his hands came up to cradle Louis' face, as if he were something fragile Harry was trying to not break.

"God, Lou", he murmured, his voice broken and Louis felt a thrill race through him at the knowledge that he had been responsible for that. Harry was obviously as affected by the kiss as Louis and, unlike their first kiss, it wasn't rage fuelling either of them now. 

Harry seemed to be struggling to breathe but he finally leant his head against Louis', letting his breath ghost over them both as it evened out. Louis realised with a trace of embarrassment that his own hands were spread out on Harry's chest but the embarrassment vanished when he felt Harry's hardened nipples beneath the fabric of his shirt.

Was Harry actually, properly turned on by him? The idea seemed unbelievable to Louis.

"It shouldn't be this hard to stay away from you!" Harry's voice brought him back to their present situation and Louis looked up to see Harry's eyes had a helpless rage in them, as if he were fighting an internal battle. "Why is it so fucking impossible to keep you at a distance?"

The green gaze was searching his face as if it held the answer to everything and, although Louis didn't know what it was Harry was looking for, he suddenly knew exactly what Harry needed.

He stretched up on his toes, taking Harry by surprise and pressed a soft peck to his lips. It was barely a whisper of shared breath and when he pulled away, his voice was thick as he said, "The feeling's mutual, Styles".

There was no heat behind the words, just familiarity and some instinctual part of him knew, that was what Harry needed right now. Familiarity.

Harry laughed then, a surprised, loud laugh that warmed Louis' heart. He hadn't ever heard it before. A part of him wondered if anyone had.   
Did anyone, even Zayn, know that Harry Styles was capable of making such a delightful sound?  
He’d like to think not. It made him feel special.

"Only you, Tomlinson", Harry shook his head, grinning as he pulled away and Louis couldn't explain just how happy he felt at seeing the open expression on Harry's face. The mask was off for the moment. Just for how long it would stay that way was another matter but Louis found he didn't care. Not right now. Not when his lips still tasted of Harry's warmth.

Harry dropped Louis' hand, moving in front of him and climbing a few steps before turning back. He wasn't smiling anymore but his face looked softer, almost vulnerable. 

"In Martha's office, it wasn't just guilt. You…you matter to me", he said finally, not glancing at Louis and then, he was gone. 

You matter to me. Louis stood there, trying to understand how those four simple words could hold such a wealth of meaning behind them. Only Harry could say it in such a way.

Only Harry could put Louis through such sweet torture and make him long for more. 

And yes, Louis decided as he headed off to Liam and Niall's room for some FIFA, he was in trouble. Quite a bit of trouble. But he found that he didn't mind all that much as long as that trouble's name was Harry Styles.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd really love to hear your thoughts on this chapter in the comments! You really have no idea how much I love reading them!   
> Until the next update, love to you all as always <3 xx


	10. A Familiar Scene

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry needs help and Louis happens to be around...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't believe the amazing positive response I've been getting for this story so far!   
> Thank you to every single person who commented and left kudos! I felt it was only fair to give you a quick update after all that!
> 
> I'm still in the middle of exams and have a bunch of assignments due over the next few weeks so I can't promise fast updates but please know that I appreciate all of you and your patience with me <3 xx
> 
> P.S: I didn't have time to proof-read this so fingers crossed there aren't _too_ many spelling mistakes!

Maybe it was because of the fact that Harry's words- "You matter to me"- were still echoing in his mind, haunting his dreams, making him feel like he was on cloud fucking nine, but Louis found himself spending more time in their living room.

Usually just watching TV, sure, but he was here, as opposed to at Liam and Niall's. Harry never kissed him again since that day and things were pretty much like they had always been but with one key difference. Louis felt comfortable with being in this room. He mattered to Harry. That was something, Louis thought. He could live with that.

Until a week later, when he entered the room to see a familiar scene. One he had almost convinced himself to be a figment of his imagination and had hoped to never see again. On the plus side, there was no knife this time around.

But Harry was curled up on the ground, his head hidden in his arms and lying in the foetal position. The television was, once again, broken and the curtains torn but Louis' eyes stayed on the figure who was quietly whimpering in the corner.

"Harry?" he had meant to say Styles. He really had, but the name had slipped out and, at the moment, it hardly mattered, right? Harry didn't move but he whimpered again.

So Louis moved closer. He stopped when he got to the tv, the smashed glass spread around the floor and he noticed some of it had gotten into Harry’s skin, leaving tiny cuts of red across his collarbone and shoulder.

"God, Harry", Louis murmured, only realising he had spoken out loud when green eyes looked up, seemingly startled to see him there. Green eyes that had tears spilling out of them, despite Harry trying to wipe them away.

"Wh…what do y…you want, T..Tomlinson?" he managed to gasp out but there was no anger or even hostility in the words. Harry just looked scared and helpless and tired and that was why, Louis told himself, he stepped over the glass and crouched next to the shivering boy.

"Let me get you out of here, alright?" Louis whispered, placing one hand in Harry's hair as the boy looked up at him. "You're going to hurt yourself".

Harry opened his mouth, looking like he was about to protest but all that came out was a sob. He nodded and Louis didn't need any more permission to gently help him to his feet.

Louis navigated him through the glass, making sure he didn't step on any before leading him to the couch.

Harry was crying again, trying and failing to keep the sobs silent so Louis did what his instincts told him to. He wrapped his arms around the boy and let Harry cry against his shoulder.

He didn't ask him what was wrong, knew he wouldn't get an answer, so instead, he murmured words that made no sense but provided comfort. 

"There now, love", he finally whispered as Harry's sobs died down. He realised what he had said a moment later but Harry looked up at him, seemingly grateful.

"Lou?" And God, he looked so lost and confused, Louis just hugged him harder.

"What do you need, love?" he asked, no longer caring about the pet name. 

"It hurts", Harry mumbled.  
"I know", Louis sighed, looking around. "Do we have a first aid kit anywhere?"

"S…Smith does", Harry answered, "I know his number".  
Before Louis could say anything in response, Harry spoke again.

“C..can you…hold me? Please?” Harry’s voice was barely a whisper but Louis heard him.

“Of course I can”, he said and held out his arms before he could think better of it. Louis tried not to show his surprise when Harry, instead of just moving closer as he had expected, clambered onto his lap, tucking his head into his neck as a child would.

This was such a different side of Harry. Nothing like his normal, silent, borderline arrogant self. This wasn't the boy who had charmed Martha and made demands for Louis' freedom. This wasn’t the guy who smirked and made Louis blush and seemed to always be in control of himself. This was more a glimpse of the real man behind the mask, the one who had kissed Louis and told him he mattered. Harry looked just as wrecked as he had then except, this time, Louis had no idea what had caused it.

"Right. Okay", Louis took a deep breath and pulled out his phone. He had to ignore the sudden lump of emotion in his throat as he looked at Harry, who was curled up against him, looking far younger than his years and relying on Louis to help him through…whatever this was.

"Tell me the number, Hazza", he murmured, not paying attention to the nickname he had used. But Harry paid attention. And Harry smiled softly against Louis' skin, burrowing his head a bit further into the older lad.

He said the number, slowly, as if recalling it was physically painful.

"Do you wanna talk to him?" Louis asked, passing the phone over but Harry looked up and shook his head, his eyes wide.

"I can't!" he said, tears forming in his eyes again. "He'll ask what happened! Only Zayn and Matron know! Only they've seen...I can't!"

"Alright. It's okay. It'll be okay", Louis soothed, pressing a kiss to the top of his head and holding him tighter. That usually worked on his little sisters when they were distraught.

It seemed to help Harry too for he nodded and buried his head back against Louis' neck with a soft whimper of acceptance. 

Louis let his hand card through Harry's soft curls as the phone rang. How did one even address a steward? Louis wasn't rich! He didn't know the protocol. Was there a protocol? God, what had he gotten himself into?

His turbulent thoughts were cut off as a man answered the phone, his voice both comforting and pleasant.

"Master Harry", he said and Louis could hear the fondness in the words.   
"Um, this is actually Louis. Harry's roommate", he said, rather awkwardly but Harry was hugging him back now, his soft breath ghosting over Louis' skin and Louis was having trouble concentrating.

"Master Louis", Smith said, without missing a beat and Louis gaped, having never been addressed as 'Master' in his entire life! "How may I assist you?"

It took Louis a moment to realise he was waiting for his answer.

"Oh. Right, sorry. Um, I was just wondering, do you have a first aid kit?"  
"Of course, Sir. Is anything the matter? Do you need medical attention?" Smith sounded concerned.

"No, I'm fine", Louis said and Harry was now chuckling under his breath, obviously having thought of some joke. Either way, it was very distracting. "It's just…" What reason was he going to give?

"I fell", he said, quickly, "And, um, Harry said you had a first aid kit so if I could just, please have it…"

"I'll bring it over right away, Sir" the man said and hung up.

"Um…I think he's coming over", Louis stated putting his phone back in his pocket. Harry was still chuckling when he looked up, his green eyes sparkling and most of the tears dried. He looked adorable really!

"No", Harry shook his head, "Smith won't come over. He'll just leave it outside the door".  
Louis shrugged. Okay then.

"Lou?", Harry was chuckling again and Louis had no idea what was so funny.   
"What?" he asked, having nothing better to do until the first aid kit arrived. 

"I think you might, um…" Harry trailed off, biting his lip in a poor attempt to stop a smile from shining through.

"Seriously, Harold. What?" Louis was getting annoyed now.

“Well, um…”, Harry said again but then he grinned and shifted in his lap and suddenly Louis became very aware of the joke. His body had decided, without his permission, to cause a certain anatomical part to swell up. Shit!

“Oh” Louis said, feeling his face turn red.  
“Oh”, Harry agreed but then one of his hands gently brushed over Louis' crotch and fuck! Louis had to bite back a moan. Harry seemed disappointed with that.

"I want to help", he stated scooting back slightly so he could touch Louis better and no. This was not happening! Louis didn't think he could survive watching Harry touch him, to be honest!

"No!" it came out a bit harsher than expected and Harry flinched. Waves of guilt immediately rolled over Louis. "I mean, it's…I don't need you to…you don't have to do that, Harry".

Harry looked up at him again, cocking his head to the side.   
"But I want to", he said, softly and God, Louis was really going through torture here. He should get an award. He should get several awards for not leaning over right then and there and kissing Harry for all he was worth.

"You're helping me, Louis. I want to help you", Harry stated and his eyes were now bright with something more than tears but his hands were warm on Louis’ legs, most likely knowing the exact effect he was having on him.  
“Besides", he added with a small smirk, "I kinda caused it, didn't I?"

Louis closed his eyes, feeling his face heat up further. There was no way he was going to admit that out loud but it didn't take a genius to figure it out when Harry was the only other living creature in the room!

Before Louis could think of a sarcastic response, Harry's hand brushed over his crotch again and this time, Louis couldn't stop the soft moan from leaving his lips. He heard Harry's breath catch and opened his eyes to see the boy staring intensely at Louis' crotch, as if he had X-ray vision, which…Louis certainly hoped not!

"Hazza?" Louis asked, his voice cracking and Harry smiled.  
"I like that name", he said and, before Louis could process that, cupped his groin firmly. Louis couldn't stop his hips from bucking up, arching into the contact, hands clenching into fists at his side and Harry looked absolutely delighted.

“Fuck! You’re so…” Harry began but a knock on the door stopped him. He gave a huff of annoyance and removed his hand from Louis’ body, scooting out of his lap. "That's Smith", he muttered, looking as if he was none too pleased about this fact.

And right now, with his cock hard and straining in his pants, Louis had to agree. Why did Smith choose this second, of all times, to appear?

But then he remembered why he had called Smith in the first place. And he remembered that the direction him and Harry were heading was a dangerous one. On second thoughts, Smith was a godsend! 

Louis shifted, about to get up when he saw drops of blood were still trickling down from Harry's cuts. He’d forgotten about that for a few moments but now, he reached over, placing his fingers on Harry's jaw and gently tipping it up so he could see the damage on his neck and collarbone.

"Shit, Harry. What happened?" Louis hadn't planned on asking that but the words left his mouth and it was too late to take them back.

Harry shrugged but he didn't move away from Louis' touch.   
"I got angry".  
"At the telly?” Louis questioned, softly.

"At myself", Harry answered. He must have seen something akin to shock on Louis' face for he quickly added, "It's okay though. I do that a lot. I'm just having a bad day".

"Do you have these bad days often?" Louis asked, reaching out to brush a hand through Harry’s curls. It was a soothing gesture, something he always did with his younger siblings. Harry though, looked at him in amazement as if no one had ever touched his hair in such a manner before.

So Louis did it again, just to hear Harry’s sharp intake of breath. It took a moment for Harry to realise he was waiting for an answer.

"Not that often anymore", he murmured back, "Not much since you came".

And well. Louis didn't know what to say to that. So, instead, he did the only thing he could.

He got up and headed towards the door. As Harry had predicted, Smith had left a first aid box outside and Louis retrieved it, shutting and locking the door behind him. He had a feeling Harry wouldn't appreciate anyone barging in at this time.

"Here, lie back", Louis commanded as he came back to the couch. Harry only hesitated for a second before he obeyed wordlessly, resting his head on the armrest and stretching his limbs out. Louis crouched on the ground next to him, grabbing one of the antibacterial wipes.

"This is going to sting a bit", Louis warned him and Harry nodded, closing his eyes. It apparently stung more than he was expecting because, as Louis continued cleaning the cuts, Harry's hand reached out and grabbed one of Louis', interlinking their fingers together.

Louis hummed under his breath as he worked, moving onto Harry's shoulder, which sported a slightly bigger cut. This one, he covered and secured with a small bandage. Finally, when he was satisfied, he sat back and squeezed Harry's hand, saying, "All done, Harold”.

Harry opened his eyes and when he smiled at Louis, it was absolutely breathtaking.   
He sat up, slowly, letting go of Louis' hand only to place his arms around Louis' neck and pull him in closer.

"Thank you", Harry murmured and Louis didn't think about protesting when Harry pressed a soft, gentle kiss to his lips. No more than a peck really. Nothing that conveyed lust or desire or any deeper meaning. Just a kiss of gratitude.

"Don't mention it", Louis replied and he smiled back at his roommate. "Now, if you don't need to use the bathroom, I'm going to go take a shower".

Harry nodded and let him go. Just as he was closing the bathroom door behind him, Harry’s voice called out, “You sure you don’t need me with you in there? To take care of your little _problem_ ”.

That certainly convinced Louis that Harry was better and back to his normal self!  
He grit his teeth as he slammed the door shut, cutting off Harry's laughter. God, he hated his roommate. Except…he didn't really.  
In fact, he was starting to realise, he might just like Harry Styles a tad too much!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What did you guys think of this chapter?  
> I hope it wasn't too badly written! I love reading your thoughts and guesses on what might happen(especially when I'm stressing over exams and need to procrastinate lol) so please let me know with a comment :)
> 
> Thanks again for your patience and brilliant support. Until the next update, love to you all <3 xx


	11. The Promise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry makes a promise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A HUGE thank you to everyone who has been leaving comments and kudos! I can't believe this story's gotten nearly 200 kudos already. You are all AMAZING!!! 
> 
> I also want to thank all of you for your unending patience with me and the encouraging comments I've been getting :) In case it wasn't obvious by now, I love you people!   
> Without further ado, here's another chapter <3 xx

Ever since that evening when he had helped Harry, something had changed between them.

Louis finally felt as if he were actually living with another person, one who had feelings and emotions. Harry's door was left open most of the time now and, even when it was closed, it was never locked. It was almost as if Harry had accepted Louis as a constant fixture in his life and that made Louis feel warm inside. 

Louis wasn't entirely sure how but it had suddenly become normal for Harry to join him on the couch in the evenings, watching whatever mindless program Louis felt in the mood for. They both quickly discovered that they had similar taste in TV shows, which meant they hardly ever fought over the remote. In fact, Harry for all his dominant nature, was quite content with sitting beside Louis and, if every once in a while, his fingers would brush against Louis' arm or loosely encircle his wrist, Louis wasn't going to complain, knowing Harry needed the comfort of a friend and ignoring his body's reaction to the touches. And, if every once in a while Louis felt Harry's lips brush lightly against his skin, he took that to mean 'thank you' for being there. 

Harry, he was quickly realising, was a very touchy-feely person but he found he kind of liked that.

Another thing that was different in their relationship was that Harry seemed to genuinely care about Louis. He still didn’t admit that in so many words, but his actions made up for it.

Louis had once fallen asleep on the couch, leaning his head against Harry's shoulder and he had woken up the next day to find Harry had covered him up with a blanket so he wouldn't get cold. It was a small gesture but it meant a lot coming from Harry, compared to how hostile he had been towards Louis at the beginning. Yes, Louis was fairly confident they were friends.

 

One thing which had not changed, was Louis' curiosity. Louis still asked Harry a lot of questions about himself (though he never brought up the day he had found Harry in tears. That was one thing he would let Harry tell him about when he was ready- if he ever was), most of which Harry deflected but he never walked away or looked angry. Tired sometimes, but never angry.

"So", Louis asked as they watched yet another failed audition on the X Factor. Honestly, Louis' _cat_ could sing better than that guy! "You haven't come to classes in a while".

“Missing me, babe?” Louis didn’t have to look over to know Harry was wearing his customary smirk. 

“As if!” Louis scoffed but his lips tugged up into a reluctant smile. “I’m just stating a fact. You’re never in class anymore”.  
He felt Harry look at him but he chose to keep his gaze on the television, knowing from experience that Harry divulged more when he felt as if he weren't being watched.

"I still do my work", Harry began but Louis cut across him.

"I know. But what else do you do all day? Surely you don't just stay in this room?"

Harry didn't answer for a second. Then he said, "I do plenty".

"Like what? Sky diving? Bird shooting? Opera?" Louis prompted, "Are you secretly batman?"   
He heard Harry chuckle. It had become one of his favourite sounds, right after Harry's full on laugh, which was now considerably less rare than it had been.  
Harry was still quiet and reserved in front of everyone else but when he was in their room with Louis, he was much more relaxed and, dare he say it, fun.

 

Louis still sat with Niall and Liam during meal times and Harry stayed with Zayn but it was no longer strange for Harry to glance over at Louis or for Louis to smile back. Without their respective friends noticing, of course! That would just lead to unnecessary questions.

One of these days, Louis reminded himself, he had to tell Niall and Liam that Harry and him had become friends. This was all still just a little bit too new for him to put a label on it. Louis was scared that their friendship was a delicate balance that could be overturned by the slightest wrong move and telling Liam he was friends with Harry Styles would most likely lead to the lad charging in here irately and warning Harry to watch his back. Nope.  
Best to keep a lid on it for now.

"You're too curious. How do people deal with you?", Harry said now, biting back a grin and Louis couldn't help but be slightly endeared by the sparkling green eyes that were trained on him. He was well aware of the fact that Harry was avoiding the question but he also knew him well enough to realise that this was a mechanism Harry used when he was uncomfortable with the topic at hand. 

So, instead of pressing the point as he would have done a month ago, Louis said, “You know I’m fabulous, Harold! We’ve established that” before smoothly changing the subject and he felt Harry gradually relax beside him.

 

It was an hour or so later that Louis yawned. Sleep began to drift over him and he felt Harry shuffle closer, letting Louis rest his head against his shoulder. He wasn't entirely sure when he had started to do this but, over a period of time, cuddling like this had become as normal for them as breathing. Harry was a really good pillow...not that he would admit it out loud!

As he lay against Harry’s warm, solid body, blinking at the TV screen that had switched to some kind of comedy show neither of them particularly cared about, Louis' sleep-filled brain thought it a good idea to say, "You know, I wish I knew more about you".

He made a sound of displeasure as he felt Harry slightly stiffen beneath him and, after a few seconds, Harry relaxed again.

"Why?" he asked, his voice soft. His breath ghosted warmly over Louis’ earlobe. It was a pleasant feeling.

Louis shrugged, yawning. "I like hearing about you".

If he hadn't been minutes away from falling asleep, Louis would never have said something like that out loud. 

"I'm not that fascinating a person", Harry chuckled but it was strained.

"Bullshit", Louis huffed and Harry gave a startled laugh, just as Louis had known he would. Yes. It was definitely becoming one of Louis’ favourite sounds in the world and if it helped the boy relax then all the better! 

Louis looked up at him through his eyelashes with what he hoped was an adorable pout. "I wanna know about you”, he insisted. Harry’s green eyes were more muted than normal but they were still warm, letting Louis know he wasn’t too uncomfortable or angry with the questioning.

"You already know a lot", Harry said softly, absently tracing gentle circles across Louis' jean-clad thigh with his hand, "More than I tell most people. It scares me sometimes how easy it is to talk to you".

“It's supposed to be easy. I'm your friend", Louis murmured, shuffling back against Harry’s shoulder until he was comfortable, "And I wanna know all the stuff I can tease you about later. Your favourite disney princess, your first crush, the time someone walked in while you were wanking-don't try to pretend that didn't happen to you, Harold. It happens to everyone".

Harry laughed and, to Louis' utter delight, blushed slightly. There was a beat of silence before he spoke.  
"You don't want to know about my family then? About Zayn? All the businesses we own?" Harry asked, raising an eyebrow. Louis glanced up to see a strange expression on his face that he couldn’t quite place.

He shook his head, baffled. "Why would I care about that stuff? That's boring! I don’t ever want to hear about your family businesses again. I’m still recovering from the shock of Zayn owning this school”.

“ _A part_ of the school”, Harry emphasised and Louis rolled his eyes, biting back a grin.

“Boring stuff either way. Tell me about the embarrassing things”, he said.

Harry's returning smile was almost blinding.

"Only if you tell me yours", Harry countered and Louis grinned.  
"Deal. My childhood was filled with a wide assortment of humiliating events. I could write a book!"

Harry's body seemed to freeze slightly at the word 'childhood' before he gave a weak chuckle.

"You okay?" Louis asked, struggling to keep his eyes open as sleep called to him. But Harry's discomfort, if that had been real and not just a figment of Louis' imagination, only lasted for a second before his arm came around Louis' shoulder, pulling him closer.

Louis blamed his drooping eyes for the fact that he practically sagged against Harry, feeling as if this position was far more comfortable than doing the responsible thing and heading off to his own bedroom.

"Do you really want to know all that stuff?" Harry asked quietly a minute later, his breath teasing Louis' hair, "All the unimportant things?”  
"Hazza, they're the most important of all. Tell me everything", Louis mumbled, snuggling into Harry more and liking the way a laugh rumbled through his whole body. He wanted to hear all about Harry, he really did! But his stupid body was tired and begging him to enter dream land. 

"Someday", Harry said, obviously sensing Louis' tiredness and Louis could tell he was smiling. "Someday I'll tell you".

"Promise?" And he'd probably feel embarrassed about how needy sleepy Louis was in the morning but for now, Louis was perfectly content to lie here, mumbling.

"Yeah. I promise", Harry murmured back.  
And, as he felt Harry's arms tighten around him protectively and felt the tickle of his hair as he rested his head on top of Louis', those words seemed like a believable promise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I feel like I've cheated some of you a bit. I had, in the early days of this fic, promised you Larry hate sex. Unfortunately, the characters in this story (Louis and Harry) decided to have a mind of their own and ignored my directions, deciding to become friends much sooner than I had planned. Just the way the cookie crumbles, I suppose -_-
> 
> What this means is, you get closer to finding out Harry's full story (yay!) but it also means hate sex is off the table- the ‘hate’ part of it, not the sex ;)   
> There’s still plenty of Larry moments and a bit of rough teasing to look forward to in future chapters as well as more Zayn/Liam interactions, which I noticed recently is sadly lacking in this story so far! Apologies to the Ziam lovers.
> 
> Just before I end this very LONG author’s note, I want to thank you all so much for sticking with me through all this. I wouldn’t be able to do this without your encouragement and support!  
> Please leave a comment to let me know your thoughts on this chapter. Love to you all <3 xx


	12. Facing Fears

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Larry with a bit of Ziam thrown in for good measure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So many kudos and comments! I LOVE YOU ALL!!!  
> Thank you so much for your constant support, especially since I've been slow with updates recently. Here's the next chapter. Hope you enjoy <3 xx

"Tommo, we're worried about you", Liam said, intercepting Louis after his last class of the day.  
Niall was standing next to him, rolling his eyes and looking uncomfortable.

"Not me! Li dragged me into this", he said with a helpless look on his face before blinking up at Louis. "You don't happen to have any snacks on you, do ya? He found my stash again".

How anyone could take food away from the cherubic blonde was a mystery to Louis but Liam managed quite fine.

"It's against the rules, Niall", he said sharply before turning back to Louis, who really just wanted to get to his room and snuggle on the couch with his roommate. "I've barely seen you these last three weeks!"

"What're you on about?" Louis asked, shifting his bag on his shoulder and trying his hardest not to look guilty, "I'm in two of your classes and we sit together for every meal".

"Yeah but…you know what I mean!"   
Louis shook his head. "No. I really don't, Liam".

Liam pursed his lips as he answered, "You never come over to our place anymore. Is Styles forcing you to stay in there or something? Is he threatening you?”

Ever since Niall had said that horror story about Harry (which was one thing Louis had still not asked his roommate about!), Liam had been completely distrustful of him. Which would have been fine six weeks ago but now, Louis was getting to be quite fond of Harry and he didn't like the fact that Liam always jumped to conclusions about him.

" _Harry_ " Louis pointedly said, ignoring the look of surprise in his friends’ eyes, "Is a brilliant roommate. I haven't been over because I've got a ton of homework to do everyday. Aren’t you the one who’s always telling me to stay on top of my work and all that?”   
He didn’t wait for Liam to answer as he added, “Now, if you'll excuse me..."

He pushed past them.

"Louis!" Liam sounded completely befuddled by him and slightly hurt so Louis, being the lovely person that he was, turned back to give him a reassuring smile. 

"Seriously, Li. I'm fine. Don’t worry on my account. Go get Niall something to eat, yeah?"  
"I…" Liam started to say but Niall had heard the promise of food and was already tugging at his arm, practically whining.

"We need to talk. Soon", Liam settled for saying and Louis nodded, plastering a smile across his face as he waved his friends off. He was slightly disappointed when he entered his room and saw Harry's door was open but the boy himself wasn't in.

Louis moved to his bedroom so he could change out of his uniform and that was when he saw the note. It had been placed on his bed, a small cluster of flowers around it and Louis knew who it was from even without the signature at the bottom.

 

_'The sky was very blue today so I went for a walk. Better than reading Romeo and Juliet. I also found these pretty flowers -H '_  
At first, Louis was confused but then he realised it was Harry's way of telling him about his day, just as Louis had requested a couple of weeks back. It made something warm unfurl inside him. 

He couldn’t stop the wide smile from forming on his face as he folded the note up and placed it in one of his bedside drawers. Something made him want to keep it. He almost felt as if this was Harry’s way of confirming their friendship and letting Louis into his life, a little bit at a time. That night, as they sat on the couch, Louis leant up and whispered in Harry's ear, "Thank you for the note. And don't lie. You love Romeo and Juliet!"

Harry grinned at that and his green eyes sparkled with genuine joy, pulling Louis in the way they always did. The kiss was soft and sweet, a sharing of warmth rather than any heat or passion but it still made Louis' skin tingle.

He cleared his throat as he resumed his position on the couch and Harry's arm came around him, holding him close. Louis wasn’t sure what they were anymore. Just friends? Or more than that?

He was scared to find out the answer so he just cuddled closer to Harry. Answers were overrated anyway!

 

The very next day, Louis received another note.  
 _'An old lady waved at me on the street today. She seemed very nice -H'_

It made Louis smile to picture his curly-haired roommate strolling along the pavements, waving at passersby. Probably giving them his dimpled smile.

 

The notes were short and random but soon enough, Louis began to get a clear idea of Harry's days when he wasn't in class. Sometimes he went for walks, sneaking out of school grounds (although Louis doubted he would get in trouble, even if he was seen by anyone). At other times he would write about some new song he had heard playing on the radio that Louis would then, promptly listen to.   
He discovered Harry had pretty good taste in music. 

When Louis had told Niall about the notes (telling Liam was completely out of the question!), he had stared at him.  
"That's just weird" he had stated and Louis had snapped back, "I think it's cute!"

"Nothing Styles does could be classified as cute", Niall had smirked but then he caught Louis’ death glare and never joked about it again. As the term progressed, Louis and Harry grew even closer but to the outside world, the change was almost imperceivable. Louis often wondered if he should tell his friends but then changed his mind. It was hard to talk about Harry without remembering all their shared kisses and secret touches. Neither of them had taken it any further. For all Louis knew, Harry did this with all his friends!

So, no one noticed anything different about Louis and Harry’s relationship and Louis decided to just let it be.

Except he hadn’t counted on Liam. Liam noticed many things- the glances the two exchanged, the occasional secret smile Louis wore, how he hurried off after class to get back to his room, once even turning down the offer of playing football in favour of a “quiet night in”.

Liam was a good friend really. That was why he refrained from commenting on it but he never stopped worrying. It was after his tenth unsuccessful attempt to talk to Louis about it (Louis had claimed he had a “killer headache” and sprinted off) that Liam decided he had only one option left.   
Which was why, two and a half months after they had come to Stanford, Liam decided to talk to Zayn Malik, Harry's closest confidant who was, decidedly, _not_ Liam's crush (no matter what Niall said!).

Zayn, he could tell, cared about Harry the same way Liam cared about Louis. It was this that gave him the courage to walk up to him during Latin class and tap him on the shoulder, pulling his gaze away from his adoring fan club.

Under the glares of his admirers, Liam told Zayn four simple words.  
"We need to talk". It had sounded much better in his mind!

Zayn raised an eyebrow, obviously confused so Liam elaborated.

"About your brother and Louis".

Louis' name seemed familiar to Zayn for a look of understanding entered his eyes but before he could respond, the teacher entered and signalled that class was about to begin.

Liam went back to his seat, feeling a bit humiliated. What if he had blown this whole thing out of proportion? What if Louis really was just in his room doing his homework and not being threatened by Harry Styles as he feared?

By the end of the lesson, Liam had so many doubts swirling about his head that he decided talking to Zayn was definitely a stupid thing to do. 

Liam grabbed his books and nearly ran out of class, hoping to avoid the boy but he collided with a warm, hard body. Arms came around him, preventing him from falling most ungraciously on his face. 

He looked up to thank the person but ended up just gaping when he saw it was Zayn Malik, as beautiful up close as he was at a distance. The world wanted to punish Liam, obviously.

He may have stared at him for a long few seconds or minutes or hours. Liam honestly didn’t know. He had lost the ability of rational thinking somewhere along the way.

"You wanted to talk?”, Zayn said with a raised eyebrow, reminding Liam he was here for a reason.

"Uh…yeah? I mean, yes", Liam cleared his throat, stepping away. To get some air, he told himself; to clear his head from the heady cologne that was Zayn Malik. "I'm worried about Louis. He's been spending a lot of time with Styl..ah, Harry and…”.

 

"My brother isn’t a bad influence”, Zayn snapped, immediately defensive. And Liam gave himself a mental slap. Of course that's how it sounded; like he was accusing Harry of something- which he wasn't…at least, not yet.

And now he had offended Zayn, his only source of information about Harry.

"N..no. I didn't mean it like that", Liam hastily backtracked.

"Then pray tell, exactly what _did_ you mean?" Zayn's eyes, the warm hazel of them were now burning with an almost ethereal glow of anger. And Liam had to tear his gaze away as he answered because, damn! The boy looked amazing even when he was fuming. Life really wasn’t fair, the universe apparently hated Liam and he had no idea how to stop digging his own grave with Zayn Malik staring at him like that.

"Louis used to…he wasn’t Harry’s biggest fan at the start of the year…and I’m a bit worried because he…”, Liam was honestly considering just running for it at this point. He sounded more idiotic with every passing second. "He never mentions him anymore. I mean, he used to complain all the time but now…"

"Are you jealous of Harry?" The question was so random and as far from the truth as possible that Liam couldn't stop himself from letting out a borderline hysterical laugh. He was nervous, okay? 

"What?" he gasped when he saw Zayn was less than amused. "No! No, I'm not…Louis and I aren't…"

"Aren't you?" Zayn asked and it might have been wishful thinking on Liam's part but his face seemed a little more brighter.

"No! He's my best friend! That's all there is between us", Liam answered, then remembered his reason for this conversation. "It's just, he always tells me everything and for the last month or so, he's been more closed off. Doesn't hang out with me or Niall as much as he used to”.

“You’re worried that he’s hanging out with Harry?” Zayn asked, tone still defensive and Liam nearly huffed in frustration. 

“No! I mean…kind of. Look, I’ve known Louis since we were children and he’s never been like this. He doesn’t keep secrets or avoid his friends. If him and Harry were friends…it’s usually the kind of thing Louis would tell me about. I guess I’m just trying to figure out why he’s never around anymore. Why he prefers his room to ours”.

 

Zayn shrugged.  
"He's probably just stressed or something. With exams coming up“, he replied, his gaze already shifting away, obviously bored with the topic at hand. But Liam needed answers! 

“Louis doesn’t stress over things like that. Could you just tell me if your brother's mentioned anything about Louis? Like, whether he and Louis are friends?"

Or whether he's holding my best mate captive?   
Yes, Liam thought. This had _all_ sounded much better in his head!

Zayn quirked an eyebrow at him, a small smile on his face.

"I really don't know", he said after a few seconds of silence in which he studied Liam, making him more self-conscious than ever. "He said Louis was his roommate. That’s all I’ve been told”.

Liam didn't know why but he had a feeling Zayn was holding something back from him. If that was the case though, his poker face was just too good.

 

"Right", Liam finally said, "Sorry for wasting your time then".  
He was about to step away when Zayn grabbed his arm. Liam looked up, his breath catching, consciously trying to ignore the heat that was spreading up from the point of contact. 

"Hold on a minute", Zayn said and his voice was practically a seductive drawl. "By your own admission, you've wasted my time. The least you could do is make it up to me".

Liam felt his mouth go dry. What?

"I…what?" he asked, the epitome of eloquent speech.   
Zayn though, didn't seem to care. His smile only got wider, as if he knew exactly what he was doing to Liam's brain.

"Make it up to me", he repeated. "It's the polite thing to do".

"How?" Liam said and he really hated how his mind was turning to complete mush and reducing him to single syllable responses as Zayn's eyes lingered on his face.

"I'm sure you'll think of something. You're a smart one, after all", Zayn replied with a smirk and then he _winked_. Liam's mouth fell open and, with a small chuckle, Zayn Malik merged with the crowd and vanished, leaving Liam a confused, nervous wreck.

Yes. Life really wasn’t fair!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, please let me know your thoughts in the comments. They motivate me to keep going with this fic :)  
> More Larry in the upcoming chapters. Until the next update, love to you all <3 xx


	13. Deep Cuts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Niall enters the picture and Harry needs Louis again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all once again for all the support you’ve been showing me! I’d never get these chapters written up if it weren’t for your motivating comments!
> 
> Just to be on the safe side, I’m going to put a **potential trigger warning** here as self-harm is kind of hinted at in a part of this chapter. No one actually gets hurt but if mentions of this kind of topic disturbs you in any way, please take care when reading. Stay safe and love to you all  <3 xx

It seemed that Liam had passed on his 'protective guard dog' duties to Niall (what with Liam himself being too busy trying to figure out if Zayn Malik had indeed flirted with him or not. Louis said yes, Niall said no. Liam told them they were both completely useless so now, he was on his own!), as Louis found Niall following him after class.

Louis was sure it was meant to be inconspicuous but asking Niall to be inconspicuous was like telling someone not to think of a pink elephant. It was practically impossible. 

Louis decided to take a detour to try and throw him off and entered the library, claiming a table at the back. He took out his maths book and started to do his homework (something he normally did in his own room), figuring Niall would soon get bored and leave him alone. But, after an hour of having done both Maths and English and a little bit of Latin (God, he hated that subject!), Louis got up and began walking towards his room only to see Niall trailing after him again.

Who was he trying to be? James Bond?

Louis decided that was an insult to James Bond after Niall knocked over yet another poor lad in his hurry to keep up with Louis (cough - at a _discrete_ distance - cough).

Louis finally stopped and turned around. It was worth it just to see the 'deer caught in headlights' look on Niall Horan's face. As if the boy had actually believed himself to be capable of sneakiness!

"Can I help you, Niall?" Louis asked, raising an eyebrow at the Irish lad.

"Uh, I…thought you might like some..uh...help with homework?" he said with a panicked look at having been caught out.

"Help with homework?" Louis repeated. Christ. Did Liam teach the boy nothing about spying techniques? "Right. I'll try and ignore the fact you watched me like a hawk as I finished doing my homework in the library".

Niall's face turned red at that and he bit his lip, obviously trying to figure out how Louis had managed to spot him.   
"Word of advice, mate. Drawing a fake moustache on yourself does _not_ magically camouflage a person", Louis added, "But also, Niall, you're currently coming last in every class except music. Helping me with homework? Really?"

"Oh. Yeah. I meant…I need help. With homework. From you!" he said it a little too brightly, proud at having come up with another excuse at such short notice while trying to subtly wipe off the fake pen moustache he had drawn on earlier.

"Niall", Louis just said his name in _that_ tone that had Niall cringing and shooting him a sheepish look. 

"Sorry, Tommo. Liam made me promise to keep an eye on you", he said.  
Ah. A full confession. Liam really needed to train his recruits better if he was planning on making this a regular thing.

"I told you both- I'm perfectly fine! I don't need anyone keeping an eye on me!" Louis said, exasperated.

Niall shrugged, pulling a chocolate bar out of his pocket. Where did he get these things from?

"I know. Liam's just a bit…"  
"Overprotective?" Louis questioned at the same time Niall said, "Crazy".

They both laughed.   
"Just let me walk you to your door, yeah?" Niall asked, "So I can tell Liam you weren't kidnapped by an alien on your way there or anything".

Louis wanted to look annoyed but it was really hard to stay mad at Niall, especially when he was blinking at him with those baby blue eyes and a hopeful grin on his face. 

"Alright. Just to the door", Louis conceded and Niall bounced along beside him, without a care in the world. He chattered on about music class and how he had finished some amazing composition (which Louis knew would be amazing since Niall was a musical prodigy!).   
Honestly, Louis didn't think Niall would even notice if an actual alien _did_ appear and kidnap Louis. He was far too occupied in conversing about music, one of his greatest passions.

It was pleasant to listen to though and completely different to his conversations with Harry. Thinking about Harry made him smile. He missed the curly haired lad as Harry hadn't come to any of his lessons today and had also skipped his meals. Louis wondered if he'd eaten the oatmeal he had snuck out for him at breakfast.

Niall was still talking as Louis got to his room and unlocked the door. 

"Alright, Nialler. See? I'm safe and in one piece. Bye now", Louis said, stepping into the room.  
Niall rolled his eyes. "No gratitude for the company, I see. Fine. I'll…"

He trailed off as he saw Louis freeze, one hand still on the door handle.

"Tommo? Is everything…holy shit!" Niall stepped up behind him and saw the same sight that had left Louis shocked. Dammit! He should not have let Niall come with him but how was he supposed to know today would be one of Harry's bad days?

Did the fact he missed classes and not show up for meals not give you a hint, genius? Louis wanted to strangle the stupid voice in his head that said that but he had other things to worry about. Like a curly haired boy who would be curled up in some corner of their room.

"Louis…" Niall began, placing an arm on Louis' shoulder in an attempt to stop him from taking another step forward but Louis shot him a look and said, “Stay or leave, Niall but lock the door”.

To his credit, Niall simply nodded and stepped inside, closing and locking the door behind them without asking for an explanation. Louis moved towards Harry's bedroom door, which was closed, praying it wasn't locked. It was such a rare sight to even see the door closed nowadays.

 

Louis’ thoughts were on Harry, hoping it looked worse than it was. Praying Harry hadn’t hurt himself.  
He ignored the torn cushions on the couch and the ripped curtains. He didn't see the scratched paint on the wall that had been pristine that morning. He didn't even notice the knife marks on their wooden coffee table that had Niall gulping in a breath.

All Louis paid attention to was the bedroom door, which opened under his firm touch.

"Harry?" Louis asked softly, not wanting to startle the boy. He could see him now, sitting huddled up on the ground in a corner of the bedroom. Next to him was a crown of flowers that had been squashed, possibly under his own feet and a blanket that looked as if it had been slashed by an animal with sharp claws.

"Harry? Are you alright, love?" Louis tried again, stepping closer, making sure he didn't make any sudden movements. And then he saw it. The knife that was gripped in Harry's right hand; gripped so tight his fingers were turning white from lack of blood.

Shit! This hadn't happened last time! Should he call the Matron? She would be better able to deal with this kind of thing. Or…or Zayn? But Harry was looking up at him now, green eyes tear-stained and Louis' heart melted. His body didn't give him any other choice but to move closer, dropping to a crouch so he was at eye-level with Harry.

"Lou?" Harry's voice was thick with tears even as more fell from his eyes and Louis wondered how long he'd been crying for. He'd have to ask him. Later. 

"Harry, I'm here. Everything's going to be fine", he murmured, hoping the words were getting through to the distraught boy. "You're not hurt, are you?"

Harry shook his head, tears rolling down his cheeks.

"It's all going to be fine. Could you give me the knife, Hazza? Pass it to me?"

Harry's grip on the knife's handle loosened slightly but he didn't let go.

"Okay", Louis moved his hand closer to the knife holding hand, not quite touching Harry but letting it linger close enough for him to feel the warmth reflecting off of him.

"Harry, love, can you please give me the knife? I don't want you hurting yourself, yeah? Please?"

"You weren't here", Harry said it so quietly Louis had to lean in to catch it. "I was watching TV and I remembered and…you weren't….you were gone. Everyone always leaves”. He let out a small, anguished sound that made Louis’ heart clench.

"No, Hazza. I’d never leave you! I just had to make a quick stop at the library", Louis answered, clamping down the heavy wave of guilt he felt.

"Why?" Harry asked and the tears were falling slower now, which meant Louis could breathe a little bit easier. 

Why indeed. Because Niall's a nitwit who had followed him at Liam's command? Yeah. Somehow, Louis didn't think that would help in this situation. How he wished he hadn't stopped by the library, that he had come straight home. He might have been able to stop this from happening. Might have saved Harry the tears and…  
This guilt wasn't helping him to help Harry so Louis pushed it away for the moment.

"I had to grab a book for research", he said instead and Harry seemed to accept that as his grip on the knife slackened a bit more.

"Come on, Harry. Help me out here. Give me the knife", Louis said and this time, he let his hand rest on top of Harry's larger one. The boy was freezing. So cold that Louis wanted nothing more than to curl up around him and try and pass over his own body heat. But that wasn't exactly possible with the position they were in.

Harry shivered a bit but he shook his head.  
"I can't", he said, softly.

“Of course you can. Just let go of it, yeah?” 

Harry shook his head, adamantly. “I can’t”, he repeated.

Louis paused, considering.   
"Why can't you, Haz?" he asked, softly.  
Harry didn't answer for a second and when he finally spoke, his voice was barely a whisper, his eyes blank and distant.

"Mummy says knives hurt but I hurt her more. She can’t love me because I…I hurt her so bad. I don’t want to hurt you too, Lou”.

He may as well have stabbed that knife through Louis' heart right then and there! Louis knew he wasn't talking about Zayn’s mum-not the woman who had adopted him. This had to be his biological mother. God, what had that woman put him through?

Louis realised his hands had clenched into fists, the anger radiating through him at the thought of Harry being unloved by anyone, let alone his own mother!

He took a deep breath. This wasn't helping either. His anger wasn't helping Harry who was still holding onto the knife, refusing to ‘hurt’ Louis and clinging to the his childhood nightmares.

He was at a loss as to what to say when Harry spoke again, still in that eerie whisper.  
“Knives hurt”, he said gravely, “I don’t want to hurt anyone. Especially not you”.

"It's okay, Harry", Louis' voice cracked a bit as he spoke but there was nothing he could do about that. "The knife's not going to hurt me. I don't want it to hurt you either, okay? So just…"

"Knives hurt. I’d rather hurt myself. I don’t want to cause pain anymore”, Harry repeated and although his eyes were on Louis, his mind was somewhere else, trapped in the past Louis knew nothing about.

So he did the only thing he could. He leaned forward, ever so slightly, and placed his other hand against Harry's cheek, feeling the wet tears there.

“I need you to come back to me, Harry”, he whispered back, gently stroking his cheek, “The knife’s not going to hurt anyone and neither are you. I’m right here, alright? And I…I need you with me. Please, love? Come back to me”.

Harry gave a shuddery breath and his voice was hoarse when he murmured, “I was a mistake. That’s all I am. A horrible mistake”.

And no, Louis didn’t know much about Harry’s past but he knew the words the lad was saying were as far from the truth as possible. He had never met anyone quite like Harry Styles before but he couldn’t imagine a world without him in it. Louis tilted the boy’s chin up, making sure their eyes met as he said, “No, Hazza. You're an amazing person. Kind-hearted, funny, charming. You light up the room when you walk in. You command people’s attention in the best possible way. The world’s lucky to have you, Harry and anyone who tells you otherwise doesn't deserve to have you in their life".

"Life?" Harry's eyes shifted, something inside them changing and then he was sobbing, the knife clattering out of his hand. Louis grabbed it quickly, pushing it under the bed, far away from Harry. He'd have to get rid of it later but for now...

"Louis! She didn't have…it should’ve been me! I..I hurt her! It’s my fault! Why do I always hurt people? Why do they leave?”, Harry's cries made Louis move closer. He wanted to move them to the bed- the floor wasn't exactly the most comfortable position- but Harry was clutching against his shirt desperately, pulling Louis closer and sobbing into his neck so he stayed there, just holding the boy as best he could.

He let his fingers play through Harry's curls as he murmured reassurances, his lips pressed against the lad’s temple, rocking him through the sobs. Right now, curled in his arms, there wasn’t even a trace of the confident, arrogant demeanour Harry usually wore. All that was on display was raw emotion and inconsolable grief over something only the curly haired boy knew about.

"It's not your fault, Harry. It’s not”, Louis said it like a mantra as the moment he stopped, Harry would start up again with, "It's my fault!"

Nothing Harry said made any sense to Louis. He kept mentioning someone but he had no idea who it was or what had happened to make Harry think something involving that person was his fault.

"Shh. It's going to be okay, Harry. I'm here. You're going to be fine", Louis murmured and Harry's sobs gradually decreased in intensity. He sniffled and mumbled a question into Louis' neck, sounding hesitant. Hesitation wasn’t something Harry displayed often and Louis didn’t know how he felt about it. He’d rather have his Harry screaming at him in anger than be the way he was right now. Still, he listened to Harry’s question because he knew that’s what the lad needed.

“Y…you w..won't leave? Promise?"

"I won't leave, Hazza. I promise”, Louis repeated, dutifully and then, because Harry looked like he could use it, he pressed a soft kiss to the top of his head and tightened his arms around the boy. 

 

He caught Niall's eye, the blonde boy still standing at the door, just watching the scene before him. For a while there, he had completely forgotten about him.

"Don't tell Liam", Louis mouthed now, a pleading look in his eye. Niall shook his head to indicate he wouldn't, obviously having the sense to realise this was something deeply private.

"Stay or go?" he mouthed back, pointing to himself. Before Louis could decide, Harry shifted, drawing his attention back to him.

"Who's there, Lou?" he asked, still sniffling but considerably more composed than he had been minutes ago. Louis hesitated. He wasn't sure how Harry was going to take this.

"Um…it’s…my friend, Niall", he answered.   
Harry looked up at him.

"Were you with him earlier?” he asked. There was no anger in the words but Louis would have preferred that to the look of hurt he could see in Harry's eyes. Shit!

"No, he wasn't". They both looked up when they heard Niall's voice. The blonde was still standing by the doorway, hands in his pockets and considerately keeping his gaze on the floor, away from Harry’s tear-stained face. "Louis was in the library. I just ran into him as he was walking back. Said he had to get back to you".

And any ill feelings Louis still harboured towards Niall, vanished the moment he saw Harry's bright smile. 

"Good", Harry murmured and when he looked back at Louis, the smile stayed in place despite the wet eyes, “I missed you”.

And god, how the hell was Louis meant to guard his heart against something as disarming as that? So, he did what he did best. He laughed it off.

“Who wouldn’t?” Louis grinned, “I’m a delight to be around!”

“You keep telling yourself that”, Harry replied, biting back a grin and Louis would be lying if he said he wasn’t relieved to see the teasing smirk on Harry’s face. There was still a bit of sadness there, under it all, but it was a much less than what it had been a few minutes ago. 

“You're a proper mess, Hazza”, Louis said with a fond chuckle, reaching out to wipe the boy’s tears with his hand and knowing they'd gotten through the worst. Harry leaned into the touch, still smiling and he let Louis help him up off the floor. He reminded Louis a lot of a child right then. Someone he had to protect with his life if need be. It only scared Louis a little bit to know that he wouldn’t hesitate if it ever came to that.

"You know what?"   
Harry blinked up at him, eyes trusting, as Louis spoke. His arms were still around Harry's waist but he didn't move them. Harry needed the support, he could tell and Louis felt as if he needed it too.

"This is what's going to happen this evening", Louis stated, his tone leaving no room for argument, "You, Harold, are going to go and take a shower. I know for a fact that you've been wearing these clothes since yesterday evening”.

Harry shrugged sheepishly, giving a small grin. Louis tried not to be endeared. He didn’t think he’d done a very good job of it so he moved on, swiftly.

“And while that's happening, Niall and I”, he indicated towards the blonde haired boy who was grinning at them, “Will sneak whatever the Dining Hall has to offer up to our room…”

"Pizza", Niall said, automatically, the go-to person for the weekly menu.

"Right. We will sneak pizza up to our room and watch a movie of your choice on our, thankfully intact, television…"

"We could just _order in_ pizza?" Harry suggested and Louis shook his head, rubbing his nose against Harry's cheek because, with every touch, Harry was becoming more himself. Coming back to the present and leaving the dark shadows of the past behind him. Louis wished he could remove those shadows permanently but they were a part of Harry and only he could vanquish them forever.

"Now, Hazza. What would be the fun in that?" Louis asked, raising an eyebrow and making Harry giggle. "It's all about the adventure, isn't it Niall?"

"Rule-breaking's where it's at", Niall agreed and Louis made a mental note to thank him for all this later. Niall was an amazing friend for simply accepting that this was the way things were and not asking questions about it.

"If you say so", Harry grinned, "But maybe put my number on speed-dial, you know, in case you end up in detention again?"

And the quick-witted boy he adored was back. 

"Hey! Do I need to remind you that the first time was entirely _your_ fault, Juliet?" Louis teased before deeming that Harry was sufficiently cheered up and ready for pizza.

"Alright. Go on, Styles. Take a shower. We'll be back".

Niall moved towards the front door and Louis made to follow him when Harry caught his hand, pulling him back until he stood in the circle of Harry’s arms, his hands spread against the taller boy’s chest. 

Louis let out a slightly shaky breath as he felt the hard muscles under his fingertips. He would have loved nothing more than to be pressed against them, feeling the lad’s heartbeat under…he forced himself to focus on the question Harry was asking instead.

"You won't be gone long, right?" he asked and Louis saw the trace of fear that remained in his eyes. He suddenly looked sheepish.  
“I just…um…I’d rather not be alone today”, he murmured.  
"I'll be back before you finish shampooing your hair", Louis promised, itching to ask Harry what had happened to make him break down like that but knowing he wasn’t ready to talk about it. “Wait…with all your hair-that does take a while, right?"

Harry laughed at that, giving Louis a slap on the arse as he pushed him away. It really shouldn’t have made Louis as hot and bothered as it did.   
"Go then", Harry commanded, thankfully not noticing Louis’ now red cheeks, "I want my pizza!"

"Whatever His Majesty wishes”, Louis joked, giving him a bow that had Harry laughing even harder, his face now flushed from all the attention the blue-eyed boy was giving him.

"Oi! Can we spare the flirting? I'm starving!" Niall's voice called out, breaking what Louis had almost considered, a special moment. So, with a scowl Niall’s way, Louis followed the blonde, throwing a wink back at Harry who continued grinning.

And if they had been flirting just a tad, who was to judge?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Does anyone else hate sad/scared Harry? I cried a little while writing this but the evening is still far from over! It will be continued in the next chapter because I haven’t finished writing it yet but wanted to get something up for you guys to read before then. 
> 
> And because you're all fantastic readers, I'm hoping to hear your thoughts on this chapter. Any guesses about Harry’s story? I’d love to hear your ideas! Please leave a comment <3 xx


	14. Movie Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Involving four boys, a half-naked Harry and a small bout of jealousy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the comments and kudos. They made me smile and they helped me get this chapter written. So, without further ado, here it is! This chapter picks up from where the last one left off :) xx

Getting the pizza turned out to be easier than expected. At first, Louis thought they would get into trouble when none other than Zayn Malik caught them, attempting to carry three plates away from the Dining Hall. 

Louis almost wished Liam had been here, if just to take Zayn's attention off them for a minute. Liam always had an armoury of excuses, being accustomed to the job of constantly bailing out Louis, and he could have really used a few right then as Zayn’s eyes studied them with undisguised contempt.

Niall had gone a shade paler, obviously well aware of the fact Zayn owned the school- sorry, correction; _part_ the school. Louis though, had nothing much to lose. He figured Harry would help him out if it got to that point. The pizza was for him as much as them, after all!

So he gave Zayn, who he had never really spoken to before, a wide grin and said, "We're having a pizza party in our room with Harry. Wanna join?"

Niall gaped at him as if he had just asked Hitler to a pool party. Surely Zayn wasn't that bad? Must be something about the aura of power that made rich kids freak out, Louis concluded.

"A pizza party?" Zayn asked, slowly, completely ignoring Niall's look. "Did Harry agree to this?"

Louis rolled his eyes.  
“No. I’m obviously holding him prisoner and forcing him to ingest cheesy goodness. He begged and begged but to no avail”, he replied, sarcastically.

Zayn made a sound that may have been a choked laugh before he straightened out his features again into one of superior haughtiness.

"You both realise there is such a thing as pizza delivery, right?" he asked and Louis fixed him with a glare that had Niall whining beside him. Apparently, owners of schools shouldn't be glared at? Oh well. Louis was breaking all the rules today! What was one more?

"Neither you nor your brother have any sense of adventure”, he huffed, "He suggested the exact same thing! Pizza tastes so much better when you've broken a couple of rules to acquire it".

Zayn raised an eyebrow but he was smiling now.  
"You're both losers", he stated but then he motioned for them to follow him so they couldn't have been that bad, really. Louis exchanged a look with Niall who shrugged and they trotted after Zayn, who walked with the perfect mixture of grace and confidence. Straight into the kitchen through the backdoor marked 'Staff only. No students allowed'.

"If we're getting pizza", he told them as he glanced around the bustling kitchen, "We're doing it the Malik way".

The Malik way, it turned out, was all about power and command, two things Zayn had in ample quantities.

"Sal", Zayn drawled to a pretty, blonde haired woman who looked to be in her early twenties. She rushed over to him, her cheeks tinged pink.

"Zayn! It's been ages! How are you?" she gushed and Louis rolled his eyes. Of course. Another one of his many admirers. Liam would be beside himself with jealousy if he saw this.

"Not too bad", Zayn shrugged and Louis had to admit that Harry was better at being charming…or maybe Zayn just wasn't interested in charming this girl.  
Either way, Zayn's looks, it seemed, were enough as he barely spoke to the girl for three seconds before saying, "We need a few pizzas on the go. Could you get some for us, babe?"

Louis' mouth fell open as the girl hurried to do just that, whether it was because Zayn had called her 'babe' or because Zayn was the owner of the school, Louis didn't know. Probably both.

Within minutes, Louis and Niall were each given cardboard boxes from which the delicious scent of cheese and bacon wafted up.  
"Let's go then", Zayn said and Niall threw Louis a look that seemed to say, "Now look what you've gotten us into!"

Louis shrugged. He figured Harry would like Zayn being there. He was his brother, after all. And Niall could just suck it up. He was getting free pizza out of this deal!

He briefly considered inviting Liam then decided not to. If it hadn't been for him sending Niall to spy on Louis, he _might_ have been able to prevent Harry's episode. Also, Liam would demand an explanation as to why Louis hadn’t told him about his and Harry’s friendship, unlike Niall who just accepted it for what it was. 

 

Zayn didn't ask Louis for the key when he reached their door, simply retrieving a golden key from his pocket and slipping it into the lock.

It clicked open easily.  
"You have a master key?" Louis asked, only earning a smirk from Zayn. Right. Owner of the school got special privileges. Got it. He wondered if Harry had a key for the Paris branch of Stanford. Probably. 

Probably had a whole collection of keys for all the schools he owned. Stupid rich people and their ability to buy the world! Still, Harry deserved every nice thing the world had to offer-not that Louis would ever admit as much out loud but he was allowed to be as cheesy as he wanted to in his own head.

He was relieved to hear the sound of running water, announcing that Harry was still in the shower. Brilliant. At least he had kept his promise to be back in time.

Zayn turned to Louis the moment he spotted the torn curtains, which Louis had forgotten to warn him about.  
"Were you here?" he asked and the tone suggested there was definitely a right and wrong answer to the question.

"I walked in towards the end", Louis answered, honestly. He still felt guilty for not being here. 

Zayn looked as if he were about to say something cutting when the bathroom door opened and Harry stepped out, with nothing but a towel covering his privates. Wait…what?

If Niall hadn't suggested they set down the pizzas, Louis might very well have dropped his. He was not prepared for seeing Harry Styles naked. Well, half-naked. He was gorgeous with his curly hair lying flat on his head, longer than it was when dry. Louis really wanted to run his fingers through those locks to…right. No. Louis decided to think of something else before his pants got too uncomfortable.  
But, God, Harry was fit. So incredibly fit. Those muscles rippling across his abdomen, the way the towel slung low on his waist and…okay. Yes. Stopping track of thoughts. Again. Fuck!

 

"Zaaaayn!" Harry practically squealed, rushing forward to throw himself into Zayn's arms. Apparently accustomed to hugging half-naked men (or perhaps just Harry), Zayn caught him easily, swinging him around as he hugged him back. 

"What's up, dear brother? Looking beautiful as always", Zayn grinned, placing Harry's feet back on the ground as he laughed. 

And if Louis felt a slight flare of jealousy at the fact Zayn could actually say stuff like that, stuff Louis would like to say but couldn't without sounding like a weirdo or creeping Harry out, no one had to know he felt that way. It would stay his little secret.

"Uh huh. Says ‘Mr.I Have Admirers All Over The Continent’”, Harry rolled his eyes but he was still smiling when Zayn pressed an affectionate kiss to his cheek. Louis kept his eyes on Harry's face (because looking any lower was problematic for his…uh…other extremities), checking to make sure there weren't any remnants of the fear or grief that had plagued him earlier. 

But Harry was all enthusiasm and smiles now, something Zayn seemed to notice too for he let out a small laugh of relief.

Harry's eyes suddenly shifted to Louis, who blushed when he realised he'd been caught staring but Harry's smile only grew wider. 

"Thanks, Lou", Harry said and Louis didn't know what he was thanking him for. Was it for being there to help him through his trauma? Or for the impromptu pizza party? Or for inviting Zayn? He realised it didn't matter though; not if it kept Harry smiling at him like that.

"Not a problem, Hazza. Now, shall we start before the pizza gets cold?" he asked and Harry turned to look at the coffee table, where the knife marks were now covered by boxes of pizza.

Niall had, Louis noted, shown remarkable self-restrain by not grabbing any of the slices…yet. But his patience had a time limit and Louis felt they were really pushing it.  
"Ooooh! Pizza!" Harry squealed and it was official. Harry Styles had the nature and demeanour of a five year old child. An adorable five year old who Louis seemed incapable of denying anything to, but still.

"Harold", Louis chided as Harry began to reach for a slice. He stopped and turned to Louis with a pout. "Clothes, please".

"But I like being naked”, Harry said and God Almighty, this kid was _trying_ to kill him! In the slowest, most painful way possible.

Louis' nether regions really could not take the thought of sitting next to a naked Harry all night. Nope. It just couldn't happen.

"Sorry, Haz. That's the rule. No clothes, no pizza", Louis stated firmly.

Harry looked at Zayn and Niall, giving them the puppy dog eyes. At Louis' glare, Niall said, "Sorry, Styles. I've gotta agree with the clothes".

Zayn, wisely, grabbed a piece of pizza and stayed silent, watching the scene unfold with unconcealed amusement in his eyes.

"Fine!" Harry huffed, stomping his foot but then his face lit up with a smirk as he ran over to Louis. “Give me your jacket!"

Zayn tilted his head towards them, inquisitively but Louis ignored it in favour of asking, “What do you want with my jacket?”

Harry rolled his eyes and reached for the zip. “I want to wear it, obviously. It looks warm”.

And, before Louis knew exactly what was happening, Harry was pulling his jacket off of him and pressing a quick kiss to his lips in gratitude. Or at least, that's what Louis told himself.

Because Niall had seen the kiss and was having a coughing fit while Zayn simply raised an all knowing eyebrow, some unrecognisable emotion flickering in his eyes. Louis only groaned softly as the hyperactive idiot he called a roommate ran off to his bedroom, taking Louis' jacket with him. 

He glared at Niall, who looked as if he was about to ask something regarding the exchange, before taking a seat on the couch and Niall managed to swallow back whatever questions he had, choosing instead to sprawl on the floor under the insistence it was more comfortable. Louis somehow doubted that but Niall had never been entirely normal. That was what made him so brilliant!

“Were you both here when…”, Zayn let the rest of the sentence trail off but both Niall and Louis understood.  
“Yeah”, they answered together.

Zayn glanced at Louis, a beat longer than usual.  
“You don’t seem surprised”, he finally said, “As if you’ve seen this before”.

Louis shrugged.  
“I have”, he confessed, “But it wasn’t…last time there was no knife”.

Zayn took a deep breath and nodded, closing his eyes and rubbing a hand over his temples.

“Thank you”, he finally said, opening his eyes to look at Louis, “For being here for him. I don’t have to tell you both not to say a word of this to anyone else, right?”

“My lips are sealed”, Louis answered.  
“I don’t even know what we’re talking about”, Niall responded, “All I’m going to remember about this evening is a movie and pizza. Really tasty pizza!”

That made them laugh. When Harry got back, the atmosphere was more relaxed. He grinned as he plopped down between Louis and Zayn, sitting closer to Louis than absolutely necessary and wearing his jacket with a small grin. Louis had to bite back his groan at seeing Harry in his clothes, which fit him like a second skin. It should be illegal to look that good!

“Movie time!” Harry proclaimed firmly.

And, if Louis wore a smile for the rest of the night as they watched 'The Notebook' (Niall complaining and Zayn remaining neutral while Harry mouthed along with the dialogue, cuddling against Louis who was more than happy with the seating arrangements), no one had to know.

 

______________________________

 

It was as Niall and Zayn were leaving, the former still complaining about the movie and arguing with Harry, who believed it was the next greatest love story after ‘The Titanic’, that Zayn grabbed Louis by the shoulder and shoved him against the wall. It hurt a fair bit.

Harry and Niall were already outside, still arguing, but Louis could tell they were on their way to becoming fast friends. Really, he was only surprised Niall hadn’t befriended Harry earlier. The lad was friends with everyone, including the school’s five janitors and their cleaning equipment!

"Hey! What..?” Louis began but at a look from Zayn, he decided to shut up and just listen.

"He likes you", Zayn said, keeping his voice quiet so the others didn't hear. “I haven't seen him like this with anyone before. He's…happy. He really likes you".

And, surely Zayn didn't mean…

"I like him too", Louis said, which was the truth. If his feelings for Harry were slightly more than what Harry felt for him, well, he could deal with that.

Zayn looked at him, his gaze as intense as Harry's sometimes was and Louis began to wonder if that particular look ran in the Malik family. 

"He likes you", Zayn repeated and now his tone was deeper, more dangerous. "He's my little brother. You hurt him in any way, Tomlinson, and I will make sure your body can't be found".

And…okay. Message received. Cheers for not holding back.

"Got it", Louis breathed and Zayn's look changed in the blink of an eye from intense to bright and friendly. Did mood swings run in the family too?

"Good!" he said, clapping Louis on the shoulder. "Just wanted to make sure. I'm older than Harry by a couple of months. Felt like it was my responsibility, you know?"

"Yeah", Louis nodded, making a mental note to _never_ cross the Maliks. In any matter. Ever.

But there was something he needed to know and he couldn’t ask Harry so Zayn was his only option. So Louis went for it.

"Zayn? I know Harry doesn't really like talking about his past and I don’t want to intrude or anything but…earlier today, he said something about someone called Gemma? Kept blaming himself for…well, honestly I didn't really get what he was talking about".

Louis watched Zayn's face, saw his eyes go from surprised to sad and finally settle on resignation.  
"He said that, huh?" he said and at Louis’ nod, sighed. "I'm not really the best person to ask. Harry's the only one who really knows but…"  
Zayn paused for a second, hearing Harry laughing outside with Niall, then seemed to make up his mind. 

"Meet me tomorrow morning at the H block library. I'll tell you what I can", he murmured.

Louis nodded, knowing he needed to look up where the H block library was. He hadn't even known there was more than one library at Stanford! 

"And Louis", Zayn was smiling at him again and Louis could see what Liam found attractive about the guy. "You're really helping Harry. He's better than he’s been in a long time. I saw that tonight. You're a good friend".

Louis shrugged. "I can't take much credit really. Half the time, I don't know what I'm doing".

"Neither does he", Zayn chuckled, "But you're good for him. So, thanks for looking after him. Still, if you ever hurt him…"

"Death, body shall never be found- I get the picture, thank you", Louis muttered and Zayn grinned.

"Lou?" Harry's voice made them both look over. He was standing by the door, eyes confused.

"Everything okay?" he asked, noting how Louis was standing against the wall and Zayn was standing in front of him. 

"Course it is, Harry", Zayn said, giving him a bright smile. Harry didn't look convinced, his eyes seeking out Louis' for reassurance, something in his glance coming off as fiercely protective. It made Louis feel a little warmer inside.

"Everything's fine, Hazza. Just having a chat with your brother here. Charming lad", Louis said. Zayn smirked and clapped him on the shoulder again, slightly harder than necessary, before moving to hug Harry, who seemed to be in a hurry to push him out the door.

Louis waved goodbye to Zayn and Niall and Harry closed the door behind them, a small pout on his lips.  
"Everything alright, Haz?" Louis asked, instantly worried but at his words, Harry smiled.  
“Yeah. Did we just host our first dinner party?” he asked slowly, turning to Louis.

Louis blinked for a few seconds at the unexpected question then burst into laughter.  
“Yeah”, he finally said, still chuckling. “I guess we did. Did you have fun?”

“Everything’s fun with you, Lou”, Harry replied sincerely and then grinned.  
It was such a happy smile, so different from the boy he had found curled up on the bedroom floor that Louis just wanted to hold him and never let go. He never wanted to see that smile disappear.

But it was bedtime and Louis' brain was protesting so he gave a reluctant sigh.

"Guess we should head to bed", he suggested and Harry looked just as reluctant as he felt.

But he nodded and they took turns brushing their teeth in the mirror before retreating to their respective bedrooms, leaving the door half-open as they both now did every night.

“Goodnight, Harold”, he called out, a soft grin taking over his face when he heard the answering, “Goodnight, Lou”. 

 

He was tired so it should have been easy to fall asleep but Louis tossed and turned under his sheets for over an hour, his brain refusing to shut down. All he could think about was Harry- broken and crying, Harry- talking about a girl called Gemma, Harry- needing Louis. 

So it really shouldn't have been a surprise when, half-way through the night, his door opened and a figure stood there, with tousled, curly hair and wide eyes.

“L..Lou? You asleep?"  
It was the first time Harry had ever been in his room, unless you counted the times when the boy had carried Louis to his bed after he had fallen asleep on the couch. It always made Louis secretly happy that Harry was strong enough to carry him.

"Course not, love. What do you need?" Louis responded, rolling over to look up at the boy. He gulped when he realised Harry was shirtless. Those muscles Louis had spotted when Harry left the shower earlier in the evening, were even more prominent now as he stood in the doorway with the dim light of the living room illuminating him. 

Louis had to make a conscious effort to stop his pants from tenting. His roommate was here for a reason and that reason was _not_ to indulge Louis’ secret fantasies!

He shook his head to clear it slightly as Harry spoke.

"Um, I can't sleep. I keep having…bad dreams. It happens sometimes but tonight they're…really bad", Harry mumbled and Louis cursed under his breath when he noticed Harry was shaking from something more than just the cold.

"You can sleep with me", Louis said, not even thinking about the words as he offered. He thought Harry might smirk or make a smart comment about how that sounded but the boy must have been more scared than he had let on for he quickly scrambled under the covers, holding a…teddy bear?  
A badly tattered teddy bear, who was missing one eye and had lost quite a bit of its stuffing.

"Childhood toy?" Louis asked and then bit his tongue as he felt Harry stiffen. "Haz…", he began but Harry rolled over to face Louis, pushing the teddy bear under his pillow and placing his hands on Louis' chest instead, a small frown on his face.

“Do you like Zayn?” the question was so unexpected that Louis blinked at the other boy for a minute.  
“I..uh…guess so? I mean, he’s nice and he’s your brother so…”  
Harry shook his head, the curls bouncing. 

“That’s not what…I mean, do you _like_ him? Do you think he's fit?”

Louis blinked again because who on earth _wouldn't_ think Zayn Malik was fit? He wasn't as bad as Liam, who thought the sun shone out of the guy's arse but still. It took a few moments for the implied meaning behind the words to finally make sense to Louis and that was when he started laughing. Slightly hysterically if he were honest. He just couldn’t help it! That Harry thought he’d be interested in his brother when the object of all his wet dreams was lying in bed next to him was…ironic, really. It was the funniest thing Louis had ever heard!

Harry though, did not appreciate being laughed at for Louis suddenly found his wrists pinned to the mattress and an angry looking Harry staring down at him. Their faces were so close that he could feel Harry’s breath ghost over him and his sinfully pink lips were _right there_. The thought made him stop laughing fairly quickly.

“Answer the question, Lou”, Harry growled and Louis had to fight not to shudder at the sound. A hard-on would be incredibly embarrassing right now.

He had to lick his lips a few times before he could speak and he noticed how Harry tracked the movement, his eyes flickering with something darker and more primal. 

“I…no. He's fit, sure, but I don’t like Zayn in _that_ way”, he finally managed to breathe out. Harry’s eyes studied him, as if searching for a lie and the hands on his wrists tightened slightly before he whispered back, “Good”.  
Then, he leant down and pressed a surprisingly soft kiss against Louis’ lips. Just that one point of contact made his entire body tingle with desire. 

Louis had to bite his lip to stop the whimper of disappointment from escaping, when Harry moved back and let go of his hands. He lay down beside him again, not noticing the way Louis’ breathing rhythm had sped up. Louis forced himself to calm down, reminding himself that Harry was here because he had had a nightmare. 

"I've had Teddy since I was three. Gemma gave him to me", Harry murmured suddenly, reaching out a hand to feel for the soft bear. Louis was about to ask who Gemma was when Harry turned to him and mumbled his next request. 

"Hold me please, Louis. I'm tired and I wanna be the little spoon”.

And well. What was Louis supposed to do in response but put his arms around the lad, who was actually taller than him but somehow seemed smaller when they were cuddling together. The little spoon, indeed. He tried his best to not think about the naked, warm skin under his fingers.

He forced out a shaky breath and Harry must have picked up on some of his thoughts because he let out a soft chuckle.

“Goodnight Lou”, he murmured, pressing the ghost of a kiss to Louis’ collarbone that really should not have made his heart race the way it did.  
“Night Harry”, he managed to whisper back before pushing all inappropriate thoughts from his head to focus on comforting the boy.

When Harry buried his nose against Louis’ chest, he held him as close as possible, comforted by the delicate tickle of his curls against his cheeks, so at odds with the strong arm that was wrapped around Louis’ waist. But that was Harry, wasn’t it? Odd in the most delightful way; a mass of contradictions. 

And maybe Harry was comforted by Louis' soft, steady breathing and the sound of his strong heartbeat for he placed a hand over where Louis' heart was as he drifted off to sleep, no nightmares daring to disturb him while he was in Louis' arms.  
Safe from his past, Louis thought. Safe from the world. And his mind selfishly wondered if he could keep him that way forever...  
He wished he could.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Curiouser and curiouser, as they say ;)  
> Comments make my day so please leave one if you have the time. Until the next update, love to you all <3 xx


	15. Phone Numbers and Friendships

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Louis gets ready to meet Zayn and Harry isn't too happy about it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am honestly blown away by your kind comments and kudos! Thank you so much for all the amazing support! This chapter wouldn’t have been born without it <3 xx

It had been far too early in the morning, possibly the crack of dawn when Harry had gotten out of Louis’ bed and tiptoed out the door. He might have pressed a soft kiss to Louis' lips and murmured, “Mine” before he left…or that could have been a dream Louis had had. Yes. He _occasionally_ dreamt about Harry…like, six out of seven nights a week but who was keeping count?

Louis only managed to drag his body out of bed at the slightly better but still horrible time of nine o’ clock, when he heard the front door shut, announcing Harry’s return. He didn’t ask him where he’d been. He respected Harry’s privacy too much to probe but a part of him hoped that Harry would, one day, trust him enough to tell him.

When his phone went off, Louis picked it up with a frown. The caller ID announced it was Zayn but he didn’t have the guy’s number, did he?

“Hello?” he answered, uncertainly, half convinced someone was pranking him.  
“Hey”, the smooth voice on the other end clearly belonged to Zayn Malik. “You still meeting me at the library?”

“I…yes but hold on, Zayn. How did you get my number? And why do I have yours?” Louis didn’t notice Harry’s eyes watching him as he walked towards the bathroom, phone still held up to his ear.

There was a chuckle on the other end of the line.  
“You seriously underestimate my skills if you think I can’t find out a phone number. And I put mine on your phone last night while you were gorging out on pizza”.

“Excuse you!” Louis grumbled before realising a more important point, “Hang on…but my phone has a screen lock! How the fuck did you get past that?”

Zayn scoffed. “Please. Don’t insult me, Louis. Anyway, I’ll meet you in about thirty minutes, yeah?”

“Um..okay. Sure”, Louis muttered back, still slightly annoyed. He’d thought Harry’s sneakiness was bad but his brother’s was even worse! 

Louis was so lost in his thoughts as he tried to comb through his hair with a brush, in an attempt to make it slightly less unkempt, that he didn’t notice the figure come up behind him. He almost squealed when he felt Harry’s arms wrap around his waist, trapping him between the counter and his large, warm body.

Louis bit his lip to keep back the whimper of arousal when Harry nuzzled his face against his neck and placed a gentle kiss on his jaw.  
“Your hair looks nice”, he murmured.  
Louis chuckled. “I have to at least _try_ to live up to your brother’s standards of perfection”. He realised his mistake with wording when he felt the arms holding him tighten. 

“We’re just..meeting up for a chat”, Louis felt the need to explain, hoping he didn’t look too guilty. Technically, the meeting was about Harry but there was no way he was going to let him know that.

“You said you didn’t like him. Why the fuck are you meeting up with him then?” Harry all but growled, which should not have been sexy but try telling Louis’ nether regions that!  
Still, he didn’t like to be ordered about or questioned.

“I meant what I said!” he snapped back, “I don’t plan on fucking every guy I talk to. That doesn’t mean I can’t hang out with whoever I damn well please!” Louis’ own temper was getting the better of him now. He reached for the brush again, deciding to focus on fixing his fringe but Harry turned him around so they were chest to chest with his hands trapped between their bodies. 

“Leave it, Tomlinson”, Harry growled, his green eyes glittering with…was that jealousy?  
“What if I don’t, Styles?” he growled back.

Louis didn’t try and overanalyse it; he didn’t even bother questioning it when Harry’s hand cupped his jaw and brought their lips together. But it was clear that Harry was trying to send a message across by the way he gripped Louis’ waist and pulled him closer, leaving no space between their bodies. His lips slid firmly against his, unrelenting, demanding entrance and, when he began nibbling on his bottom lip, Louis gave a soft groan and let Harry have complete access. Harry’s tongue traced over his lips once, twice, soothing the slight sting his teeth had left behind before venturing into the hot crevice that was Louis’ mouth. He sucked on his tongue, greedily, hands splayed across the smaller boy’s waist in a way that was both possessive and protective.

Louis’ hands were clutching at Harry’s shirt now, his head spinning as the lad kissed him harder and deeper, as if trying to convey something through his actions that couldn’t be expressed in words. Louis knew none of this made any sense but he didn’t care at the moment as he kissed back just as hard, one of his hands finding its way into Harry’s silky hair. When he tugged on it lightly and heard Harry’s answering groan, he couldn’t stop the shudder of arousal that ran through him. In response, Harry pulled him even closer, one of his large hands coming to rest against Louis’ arse cheek. He gave it a light squeeze that had Louis’ hips bucking forward involuntarily. Harry groaned into the kiss again before suddenly pulling back and away, leaving Louis flushed, light-headed and slightly disappointed that it hadn’t led to anything further.

He had done his best to keep inappropriate thoughts regarding Harry away from his mind but now, as he faced the boy who was panting, his lips obscenely red and wet, Louis couldn’t help but think how good it would feel to be bent over the sink and to let Harry have his wicked way with him. The thought should have scared him but in his current state, all it did was arouse him further.

“I…”, Harry began, his voice thick but then he shook his head, taking a step towards Louis again.

“We’re…we’re friends right, Lou?” his voice was slightly hesitant again and Louis quickly nodded.  
“Yeah. Of course we are, Hazza”. He winced at how wrecked his voice sounded.

Harry smiled then and, before Louis could process what it meant, Harry’s arms came around him again, pulling him against his chest. Louis closed his eyes when he felt Harry bury his head against his neck and press kisses there. He could feel his own cock half-hard from just being in such close proximity to Harry and Louis almost moaned when the boy’s hips shifted against his, Harry’s hardness straining through his skinny jeans. Those sinfully talented lips came back to his, hard and insistent. 

It was more instinct than anything that made him reach down and attempt to palm himself through the material of his pants but Harry’s hand was immediately there, pushing Louis’ away. When Harry’s lips moved to his neck again, suckling the soft skin there to make him moan, Louis couldn’t help but notice just how dominant Harry was in these kinds of situations. Just the thought of that made him even harder, his hips bucking helplessly against Harry’s hot hand as he continued to palm him through his trousers.

Louis reached out and ran a hand over Harry’s own straining erection. He cupped it over the material of his jeans and Harry moaned, biting Louis’ neck as his hips arched closer to him. 

“Harry…” Louis wasn’t sure what he wanted to say, whether he wanted this to stop or never end, but that seemed to be what broke the spell. Harry pulled back again and Louis bit his lip to prevent from crying out in frustration. They were _friends_ , he reminded himself. Friends didn’t do things like this.

“Sorry”, they both said at the same time. They stared at each other for a second, mutually understanding that neither was truly sorry, before falling into comfortable laughter. Louis wasn’t one hundred percent sure what had just taken place but somehow, it wasn’t awkward between them.  
“We’re such horny teenagers”, Harry grinned as if this was some great revelation and, despite the blush that spread over his face, Louis laughed.  
“Yeah. Suppose we are”, he answered with a matching smile. 

That’s all they were, he reminded himself. Friends who were going through hormonal changes. It didn’t mean anything more. He ignored the voice in his head that reminded him he _wanted_ it to mean more. 

Still, when Harry brought one hand up to cup Louis’ cheek, stroking his skin with the pad of his thumb, Louis couldn’t stop himself from leaning into the tough slightly. It seemed to please Harry though, for his green eyes lit up with something that resembled fondness and, at Louis’ raised eyebrow, he chuckled softly. Just as suddenly, his mood shifted and the smile fell off his face.

“Louis, please don’t let me hurt you”.  
It was barely a whisper, Harry leaning down to say it against Louis’ ear, his hot breath teasing his earlobe. 

“You won’t hurt me, Hazza”, Louis managed to whisper back despite the sudden tightness in his chest, “I can take care of myself”.  
Harry’s past was becoming a more pressing issue to Louis by the minute but his words seemed to relax Harry for he gave him one of his breathtaking, dimpled smiles. It certainly did not help the matter in his pants any, though. 

“Good”, Harry’s sigh seemed relieved and he rested his forehead against Louis’ for a moment. Louis smiled up at him until Harry spoke again.  
“Will you be my best friend, Lou?”  
“Why, Harold!” Louis pushed him away with a grin, “I’d be honoured!” He bent down into a mock bow and it was worth it to hear Harry’s delighted laugh.

“The honour’s all mine”, he replied and Louis wasn’t sure why that made him blush the way it did.

“Maybe I should be playing hard to get”, Louis joked, “The status of best friend is huge, after all! And we both know I’m simply amazing and highly sought after for the job”.  
Harry laughed, carefree and beautiful. Louis could listen to that laugh for hours and never get bored. 

“Well, what if I got you a present?” Harry bantered.  
“That would be a start I guess”, Louis grinned then, seeing how serious Harry was about it, added, “You know I’m just kidding, right? I’d love to be best friends with you”.

“Good”, Harry smiled, “But you said you wanted a present so now you’re getting one. You don’t have a choice”.

Before Louis could protest, Harry pressed one last, soft kiss to his lips, similar to the ones they normally shared, and left the bathroom, almost skipping out the door to God knew where. It amazed him no end that one minute, Harry could be sex on legs and the next, a five year old child! But he wouldn’t want it any other way. It was Harry’s complex nature, in part, that drew Louis in, made him want to explore the web of temptation and intoxicating touches that was Harry Styles.

Louis took a quick shower, guiltily taking care of his throbbing cock while he was there. The warmth of his own hand seemed inadequate, his body craving for the touch of another but that just wasn’t possible. So, Louis closed his eyes and ran his thumb over the head of his throbbing member, imagining it was Harry’s fingers. He ran his hand along his hard length, moaning as the familiar pressure built up inside him. His other hand moved lower to fondle his balls, rolling them slightly as he sped up the hand on his cock. Louis felt embarrassed that a few minutes with Harry had caused him to be so affected, on the verge of losing control.

He tried to comfort himself with the thought that Harry had gotten hard too. That didn’t do much except make him imagine a naked Harry pressing him against a wall, whispering dirty things into his ear and, without even realising it, Louis was suddenly coming into his tight fist, biting his other hand to prevent any embarrassing noises from escaping. Not that it would have mattered since he was alone. He tried not to read too much into the fact that this was the best orgasm he’d had in a long while.

Louis got dressed, still with thoughts of Harry on his mind. There was something about him that enticed Louis in a way no other boy ever had. He shook his head and focused on the day ahead, studying the campus map to try and figure out where the H Block library was. It was only when he decided to call Zayn to ask him for directions, that he noticed his newest contact was missing. Louis huffed out a breath.

Turns out, he was wrong. Harry Styles was definitely the worse of the two brothers when it came to sneakiness. So, it made no sense that Louis found himself smiling at the thought of Harry deleting Zayn’s number from his phone. He was quickly discovering that a lot of his thoughts made no sense when it came to the curly-haired boy.  
But, if he were honest, he wouldn’t really want it any other way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dominant and jealous Harry, anyone? ;) The next chapter will focus on Zayn and Louis’ little talk. As always, please leave a comment on what you think. I love reading them!  
> If you have any questions, the comments would be the place to ask that too. Until the next update, love to you all <3 xx


	16. Rumours Revealed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Louis has a talk with Zayn and learns a few shocking things.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, I'm blown away by the amazing comments and kudos you've all left me! I cannot thank you enough.  
> This chapter is a bit longer and mentions threatening behaviour involving knives so just a warning, if that's not something you're comfortable with, **please take care when reading** :)  
>  I think I've kept you waiting long enough for this so here's a bit more of Harry's story. Enjoy! <3 xx

The H block library was easy enough to find on the map, despite Louis whining about it. It was coloured in black, a.k.a: one of the ‘forbidden’ areas. Out of bounds. A one way ticket to detention. Or maybe expulsion? 

All of this was running through Louis' head and yet, he found himself making his way over there, determined to meet Zayn and get to the bottom of this mystery that caused Harry so much pain. After all, how could Louis help if he didn't know what the true cause of the matter was?

And, after yesterday’s incident, he really wanted to help. He wanted Harry to be happy. He deserved to be.

 

The H block library, it turned out, was huge, well-lit and obviously private. Zayn was leaning back against one of the cushioned sofas, looking relaxed and at ease. Pity Louis' own nerves were jumping at the slightest sound.

"Relax, Tommo. I can hear your heartbeat from all the way over here", Zayn murmured with his eyes still closed and Louis scowled.

"Well, excuse me if I don't want to be thrown in deten…wait a second. What did you call me?"

Zayn opened his eyes, suddenly looking flustered.  
"Tommo? It's just…Liam calls you that so…"  
“ _I_ know what Liam calls me", Louis narrowed his eyes, walking towards the suddenly nervous Zayn Malik. "The question is, how do _you_ know what Liam calls me?"

"Um…I might have met up with him last night. He asked me to, you know, hang out", Zayn mumbled, losing his calm composure for the first time since Louis met him. In fact, he looked as if he were trying not to blush, his gaze firmly on the carpeted floor.

"Last night? You were at our place until ten fifteen", Louis pointed out. Ten thirty was curfew.

"Yeah", Zayn shrugged, "I met him after curfew. Here actually". He smiled as if that had been a pleasant memory.

"Hold up just a minute", Louis held up his hands, trying to process everything. "Do you mean to tell me that you got Liam Payne- 'the rules are more sacred than the Gods' Liam Payne- to actually _break_ the rules?"

This time, Zayn did blush. "Well, he wouldn't have gotten in trouble even if we had been caught…" he tried to justify.

"Zayn" Louis almost threw himself on him as he hugged the poor, slightly shocked, boy. "This is brilliant! Oh my god! You actually got Liam to break the rules! It’s a miracle, honestly. He must be…"

Louis paused then, drawing back.  
"Malik, I have to tell you", he put on his toughest voice, "If you hurt my friend…"

"Fucking hell", Zayn muttered, pushing him away. "We went through this whole charade yesterday. Death, missing body, I know the works".

"Good", Louis grinned, "Except I was going to go a tad bit more drastic and say I'd shave your hair off in your sleep or something”.

Zayn looked shocked. “That's positively cruel, you heartless bastard”.

"Glad we have an understanding", Louis chuckled, moving to take a seat on the sofa. "Um, so is this like, your private library or something?"

“It’s Dad's", Zayn answered, “Not that he’s ever here. I sometimes use it. Don't think Harry even knows what a library is. Smith gets him all the books he needs".

Louis nodded. Although he had never actually seen Smith, Harry spoke about his steward often. He was more like a friend and fatherly figure to Harry, perhaps to both the brothers judging by the way Zayn’s eyes softened when he spoke of their steward.

Silence settled around them for a minute before Louis finally said.  
"So…Gemma?"

"Right", Zayn sighed, "Gemma. She's…she was Harry's older sister. Died when she was thirteen. Harry was just four".

Wow. Okay. Louis wasn't sure what he had been expecting but _that_ was certainly not it. 

"What happened?" he asked, hugging his knees together.  
Zayn shrugged. "That's one thing I really have no clue about. I met Harry a couple of years after it happened. At the time, he hadn't really understood his sister died, you know? He was little. Kept saying she'd gone for a holiday to the hospital and hadn't come back. But I think, in his heart, he knew. He blamed himself for her death but he never really told me what had happened. Gemma's one of the only topics he never talks to me about. Never talks to anyone about".

"Zayn", Louis really wanted to know but he knew the person he should be asking was Harry. "Can you tell me…I just want to know about Harry. Everything about him".

Zayn shook his head.  
"It's really not my place to say”, he answered and alright. That was fair enough but it didn’t mean Louis’ curiosity was satisfied any.

"Can I ask…will you tell me…about Nick?" Louis knew he had gone too far when Zayn's face hardened.

"Been listening to the rumours, have you?" he asked, coldly and fuck! An angry Zayn was almost as terrifying as an angry Harry. Except, possibly more because Louis was certain Harry wouldn't ever intentionally hurt him while Zayn…well, he had threatened to hide his body, right?

"I don't believe the rumours!" Louis said quickly and that was the truth. He had never believed them. "But people talk about it a lot and I…I want to know what really happened. I want to understand Harry's side of it".

Zayn looked as if he were going to say something but Louis' phone rang, cutting off his words.

One look at the caller ID and Louis jumped up, putting the phone to his ear.

"Haz? What's wrong?"  
Harry didn't call him all that often. Or text, really. He preferred to communicate through cute, handwritten notes that Louis, without fail, continued to collect in his bedside drawer. So the fact that Harry was calling had Louis' mind running through the worst possible scenarios when Harry giggled. Wait…what!?

"Harry?” Louis asked again, slightly calmer because if Harry was scared, he wouldn’t be giggling, would he?

"Lou! I'm at the park!" Harry's voice sounded excited and Louis felt a smile spread over his own face. 

"What are you doing at the park, Harold?" he asked, aiming for strict and failing miserably but it didn't really matter because Harry was happy. That was the important thing.

"I'm making flower crowns" Harry whispered like it was some great secret.

"Is that where you went off to this morning?” Louis asked, biting back a smile.

"Yeah. Flower crowns, Lou! Isn't it brilliant?”

“Sounds beautiful, Hazza”, Louis chuckled, running a hand through his hair. Harry's enthusiasm was infectious. "Will you be back soon then?"

"Soon", Harry replied, "I'm making one for you now. It’s your present. Do you like purple?"

"I love purple", Louis replied although, if Harry had asked him if he liked brussel sprouts, he would have agreed just to hear his laugh of delight. 

"Good! You'll wear it, yeah? It'll look really pretty in your hair!"

"If you make it, of course I'll wear it, Harry”, Louis chuckled, “Maybe you can teach me how to make one sometime?”

"'Kay. See you soon!" Harry practically sang before hanging up. And yes, Louis was wearing a wide smile at the thought of Harry weaving flowers together. So sue him.

He looked over to see Zayn watching him with an odd expression on his face.

"What?" Louis asked, raising an eyebrow to cover up how self-conscious he felt.

"You really have it bad for him, don't you?" Zayn grinned and Louis tried and failed at not blushing.

"I don't know what you mean", he sniffed, pocketing his phone and taking a seat again.

"And here I was worried you'd hurt my brother, break his heart or something", Zayn continued as if Louis hadn't spoken, "But you're head over heels for him already! How did I not see that until now? Must be losing my touch".

"Shut up", Louis muttered, keeping his gaze on the floor, “It’s not like that between us. We’re best friends is all”. 

“Right”, Zayn chuckled, drawing air quotes, “ _Best friends_. Is that code for friends with benefits?”

Louis spluttered in indignation, which made Zayn laugh again but now Louis was thinking about Harry naked in bed and…yeah. He _had_ to get a handle on his thoughts!

"I'm glad", Zayn said after a moment, causing Louis to look at him with a confused expression. "Harry's had…he's had to deal with things most kids our age wouldn’t dream about. He deserves to be happy. I'm glad you can give that to him".

"I think Harry's just a happy person in general", Louis shrugged.  
Zayn shook his head with a small smile. "Only when you're around, Tommo. I’ve noticed changes in his behaviour but it never really made much sense until I saw you both yesterday night. That's the happiest I've seen him in a long time".

And Louis would be lying if he said that didn't make him feel a little special.

"Nick", Zayn suddenly said, "He was a snake that slipped through the crack in the fence. And he latched onto Harry".

Zayn's voice was almost ice cold but Louis could hear the rage simmering just beneath the surface.  
"I should have protected him better. I should have suspected but…Nick was older than me and I just thought…I believed he wouldn't hurt Harry. And then, when I realised he would, it was too late".

"Was he Harry's…were they…" the words got stuck in Louis' throat but Zayn seemed to understand the question.

"No! God, no! I'd have killed him if he'd…no. They weren't together. Harry saw him as a friend, though. I wouldn't say he was a close friend but he was probably his only other friend here at the time. And then we found out…well, Harry found out. Nick got drunk one night and confessed he'd been getting paid by a reporter to try and find out more about Harry and our family. The Maliks are an old name, fashioned out of money and mystery. That's what the public see us as. This guy- Nick, he wanted to be a radio presenter so when a reporter offered him a job at the local station in return for gossip on the Malik family, he took him up on it. Harry never really told him anything. Like I said, he wasn't a very close friend and that's when Nick decided to fucking _threaten_ him with a knife!"

Louis gasped.

"Exactly! You've seen him when he has his bad days, yeah? He's terrified of knives because…well, that’s not my place to say. So, I walked into his room one day and I see this senior standing over my brother holding a knife and I…well, I guess I pretty much lost it. I jumped on him, attacked him. He could've probably taken me down but I had the element of surprise on my side. Harry just sat there on the couch, eyes wide, not knowing what to do and I'm still not sure what happened but Nick and I were fighting and he punched me. And then, next thing I know, Harry's jumping on him, hitting him, protecting me. I’ve never seen him quite so…uncontrolled. So then, naturally, I jumped in as well, not wanting Harry to get hurt. At some point, Nick lost his balance and fell. Hit his head against the table and got knocked out, which was fine, until his head started bleeding. He'd cut himself during the fall".

Louis just listened, barely believing it all. But believe it he did because it was Zayn who was telling him and he had never heard Zayn talk this much before.

"I was shocked", Zayn continued, eyes distant as he remembered, "I stood there like an absolute idiot. Might have started crying too. I can't remember. And then Harry was there, putting his hand on my shoulder, pulling me into a hug, telling me it was alright and we'd get help. I’m older, I should’ve been the one comforting him but it was…it was the other way around. He’s a lot like our dad in that way. The calm, collected one in times of crisis. Dad always says he'd be great at business if he ever showed the interest. Anyway, then Harry called Smith who came over and called the ambulance. Then he took me and Harry back to my room and told us to have a shower and get changed into our pyjamas. By the time the ambulance showed up and the Headmistress came searching for Harry, we were both in bed and Smith vouched for us, saying we'd been there, together, since after classes ended. She didn't believe us, I could tell. Probably because Harry couldn't look her in the eye. He’s always been shit at lying”.

Zayn gave a strained laugh before continuing, “So she told him she'd have to question him some more and I told her our dad wouldn't appreciate her disturbing us this late at night. Not having any other choice, she scheduled an appointment for the next morning. Smith barely waited for her to leave the room before he packed our bags and drove us to the airport. We reached home before daybreak and we didn't come back until the start of next term. Our parents knew the whole story, of course. They came up to the school, sorted it all out. Told Matron that Harry sometimes had anxiety attacks and if he ever got hold of a knife, to take it away from him. She agreed and didn’t pry into the matter. Dad got the old Headmistress transferred, paid a good deal of money to keep things quiet and Martha took her place. She can be annoying as hell but a bit of flattery and she'd do anything for us. More importantly, she has no knowledge of anything that happened before she started here, which was what we wanted. So yeah, the rumours went around but no one knew the true story. Still, none of it really helped Harry. He kind of…blamed himself. Was convinced he must have done something wrong for Nick to use a knife on him. It took a lot of therapy to help him see that Nick was the one who was in the wrong. He became…a lot less social after that. Hardly talked to anyone; had breakdowns more often; was plagued with nightmares. Mum and Dad figured he just needed some time so when he said he didn’t want anyone rooming with him, they agreed. I guess Matron must have decided he’d gone too long without company so she put you with him. I was angry at first, was planning on calling up my parents and demanding they transfer your room”. He smirked at Louis, who just blinked back at him.

“But Harry insisted it wasn’t a problem”. And wasn’t that a surprise?  
Louis couldn’t stop himself from gaping. “H..Harry said…what?”

Zayn chuckled, as if he could tell what Louis was thinking. “Whenever I mentioned that he could have the room to himself again, if he wanted, he’d just shake his head and tell me you were good company. I confess, I didn’t understand it at the time but now…now I’m really glad you became his roommate. His friend. He’s better with you. Yesterday, he was almost back to normal, hyped up, the way he was before Nick came along. You’re the reason for that”.

He looked at Louis now.

"I only told you this much because I think you care for Harry as much as I do. And I know you won't tell anyone else”.  
Louis nodded but Zayn was still speaking.  
“There are things he won't tell me, things he doesn't like to talk about and I thought he'd never talk about it to anyone, figured some aspects of his past would always remain with him but…I saw you two last night; the way he laughs and looks at you and it's gotten me thinking. Maybe he won't tell me but he might tell you. If Harry trusts you, that’s reason enough for me to trust you. Know how valuable and rare it is that he's opening up to you. Because Harry doesn't do that with just anyone. You're special to him, Louis".

Louis' breath hitched a bit.

"He might not show that in the traditional way", Zayn continued, "But you're important to him. If he's going to talk to anyone, it's going to be you".

"I don't know…I mean, I want to help him but I'm not sure how to get him to trust me", Louis sighed, feeling utterly useless. Here was Zayn, pretty much asking him to help Harry and he hadn't the faintest idea where to start.

“Haven’t you been listening? You already have his trust, Tommo”, Zayn said and Louis blinked at him. What?

"I told you, you're special to him. He doesn't let himself be that open around just anyone and I’m not sure what you did or what your relationship with him is but you’ve definitely gained his trust. That’s more than anyone else has been able to do. If you want to help him, you just have to be there. He trusts you enough to tell you and he will. In time”.

Zayn paused, hesitated as if trying to decide how much was too much. Finally, he sighed and added, “Harry’s strong, Louis. There are things…in his past that could have broken him. Very nearly did but he bounced back. He puts up a front, acts like he’s not affected by the stares or whispers, hides himself from the world. He's one of the bravest people I know and he hates to ask for help but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t need it".

Zayn got up then and placed a hand on Louis’ shoulder, squeezing it. 

"Trust me on this", he said, softly, seeing the doubt in Louis' eyes. "I know my brother. He needs you. You just have to give him a bit of time to see that for himself”.

Louis bit his lip, wishing he felt as confidently about it as Zayn did.

“Louis”, the dark-haired boy gave him a piercing look, “Can’t you see how different he is around you? How friendly?”

Louis thought about it. “Does deleting your number from my phone count as different?”

Zayn’s mouth fell open. He actually seemed surprised by it but it only lasted a second before a smirk graced his face.

“Yeah”, he stated, grabbing Louis’ phone and putting his number back on there, “You’re definitely important to him. Just give him time”.

And then, with one last encouraging look, Zayn left the room, leaving Louis on the sun-lit sofa to think about all he had heard.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **So I was quite nervous about putting this chapter up. Please let me know what you thought of it in the comments! Love to you all <3 xx **


	17. Another Meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Louis, Harry, ice cream and Liam.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for the kudos and comments on the last chapter!  
> This chapter is a bit short and fluffy so hope you enjoy :) xx

Louis’ friendship with Harry was going great. Brilliant even. Well, if you ignored the fact that Louis may or may not (yeah no, he definitely did) have feelings for the guy who was meant to be his best friend. Still, they were in a good place having gained both Niall and Zayn’s approval.

Liam, on the other hand, was still very much unaware of Louis’ newfound friend. It wasn’t that Louis had _intended_ to keep it a secret for this long…he just hadn’t found a good way to bring it up. Somehow, walking up to him and saying, “Oh yeah, by the way, did I mention Harry and I are BFFs now?” didn’t seem like the way one should go about it. He was grateful that Harry never brought up the fact that he was being a coward. Or maybe Harry was just as terrified as Louis at the thought of how Liam might react. He was overprotective on the best of days.

 

So, in hindsight, it had been a stupid idea to avoid Liam all of Saturday morning under the pretence that Louis had a lot of homework to finish. Especially since he and Harry had snuck into town only to realise that this was actually the same weekend as the fortnightly trip for Stanford students, most of whom were milling around the very ice cream parlour they had been heading towards.

If Louis had hoped to not run into anyone they knew, his hopes were dashed when a shock of blonde hair stood up and waved at them. At least Liam wasn’t here. Louis would take the small mercies.

Harry chuckled at Niall’s enthusiasm and dragged Louis towards the booth he was occupying.

Niall had seamlessly accepted their friendship, being completely won over the moment Harry had snuck him extra food from the kitchens. In fact, there were times when Louis had to kick Niall out of their room because he was taking up too much of Harry’s attention and Louis may have been, just the tiniest bit, jealous.  
He’d deny it within an inch of his life if anyone ever brought up the matter!

“Tommo! Hazza!” Niall grinned at them now and Louis tried not to be too annoyed by the fact the Irish leprechaun had so blatantly stolen his nickname for Harry. Still, it was impossible to stay mad at Niall so he rolled his eyes, pinched a spoonful of his ice cream and decided that was punishment enough. 

 

“How’s it going lad?” Niall smiled at Harry, throwing Louis a glare as he cradled his bowl of ice cream protectively in his arms. 

“Good!” Harry answered, smiling back, “Well, except for the fact that this one”, he glanced at Louis, “is terrified of running into Liam around every corner”.

“You don’t understand!” Louis grumbled, “Liam’s like a ninja when he wants to be!”

“Still haven’t told him then?” Niall asked, “Keeping Styles your dirty little secret, are we?”

Harry chuckled, seeming altogether too delighted by the idea. Louis narrowed his eyes at Niall and stated, “Fuck you, Horan”.

“Lou, that’s not very nice”, Harry commented, reaching over to pet Niall’s hair as if he were a helpless puppy that Louis had left out in the rain or something. The blonde had the audacity to lean into the touch, smirking at Louis who was decidedly _not_ jealous of the fact that Harry and Niall were such good friends. 

Louis was about to reach for another spoonful of Niall’s precious ice cream (the guy deserved it!) when Harry, guessing Louis’ plan, nudged him out of the booth.

“Wha…?” Louis began, eyes narrowing at the all too innocent smile on Harry’s face.

“Could you get me a banana sundae, please Lou?” he batted his eyelashes, knowing it would irritate him, “Just tell them to put it on my tab”.

“What do I look like? Your servant?” Louis snapped back, knowing it was all just banter, “And everyone knows strawberry’s the best flavour!”

Harry grinned, easily falling into the game.  
“You’re definitely not a servant then. My servants have much better taste in ice cream”.

Louis opened his mouth, about to answer then decided against it, an idea coming to him. He gave Harry a sweet smile that immediately had the curly-haired boy suspicious.

“Banana ice-cream, you said? I’ll get you one right away!” he grinned, walking towards the counter. If he purposely swayed his hips a bit more than normal because he knew Harry was watching him, well. No one could prove it.

“Hello, love”, he told the bored person at the counter, “Could I have one of every flavour?”

The girl’s eyes snapped up to his.   
“You realise we have thirty eight flavours, right?” she asked slowly, as if trying to gauge whether he had broken out of a mental asylum.

“Wow, you don’t say? Make it two of everything then”, he answered and she stared at him for another second before sighing and giving a shrug, muttering something about “crazy, rich folk”.

Louis and told her to put it on Harry;s tab and told her their booth number before walking back to the table, a smirk on his face. Harry immediately narrowed his eyes and assessed Louis.

“Alright. What did you do?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

Louis blinked back at him, the picture of innocence.  
“I bought you ice cream”, he stated. He could feel Harry’s eyes boring into him as he turned to face Niall, chatting about trivial matters. 

He knew the moment Harry figured it out by his sharp intake of breath.

“You didn’t!”   
Niall’s eyes had lit up. “Oh my God! Is that for us? You’re a fucking legend, Tommo! Legend!”

Louis grinned, turning to face Harry again. The boy was surveying the trays upon trays of ice cream that were being directed their way. 

“I’m sorry. Are we feeding the entire student population of Stanford?” Harry muttered, grabbing his banana sundae and nodding that the rest should be placed in front of Niall, who was staring at all the flavours with undisguised delight.

“What? I was just going above and beyond expectations”, Louis said, “It’s being proactive or some such thing”.

Harry smirked around his spoon, glancing at Louis with a wicked gleam in his eyes that made Louis’ skin prickle with heat.

“Is that so? Well, it’s only fair I return the favour then”, Harry murmured and, before Louis understood what he meant, he felt one of his large hands squeeze his thigh, travelling towards his groin.

“Harry”, he warned, quietly, glancing over at Niall who was thankfully too busy trying to inhale his ice-cream to notice where Harry’s hand was. 

“What? Just going above and beyond expectations”, Harry answered, his grin shameless as he cupped Louis over his jeans. Louis bit his lip, holding back the moan that threatened to escape but there was nothing he could do about the way his cock suddenly came to life, throbbing and swelling as Harry expertly rubbed it over the fabric.

Louis shifted closer, placing a hand on Harry’s lower back as he whispered in his ear, “We’re in public you lunatic!”

Harry’s smile just got wider.   
“But that’s the best part Lou”, he whispered back, “Not a single person here knows what’s being done to you right now. And they won’t know unless you give it away, babe”.

Louis bit his lip harder, his hand moving to grip Harry’s waist. Harry squeezed the growing bulge in Louis’ pants, making him buck up slightly, a gasp escaping. Louis glanced around quickly, face red, to make sure no one heard.

“Fuck!” he hissed as Harry’s fingers traced the hard outline of his cock. Harry’s mouth came back to his ear, his hot breath ghosting over it as he whispered, “How much are you willing to bet that I can make you come in your pants”.

The words only made his cock grow harder and Louis was in both heaven and hell at the same time. He glared at Harry but he figured from the answering chuckle that it wasn’t as intimidating as he’d hoped. He was struggling not to buck against Harry’s hand now, his body craving the friction but his mind screaming at him that they were in public. In an ice cream parlour. Where there were most likely younger children. And…no. This was wrong on so many different levels. Friends didn’t _do_ things like this!

“Don’t”, Louis groaned in Harry’s ear, resting his head against his neck. “Please don’t. I can’t…here”.

Something in his voice must have made him understand because Harry stopped with a regretful sigh. 

“You’re no fun”, he pouted but he rested his head against Louis’ shoulder so it was all just talk, really. 

 

“Slow down, Nialler”, Louis grinned at the blonde once his face had turned back to a relatively normal shade, “You’re going to give yourself a stomach ache”.

“But I can’t! I’ve died and gone to heaven!” Niall shovelled another spoonful of what appeared to be cookies and cream ice cream into his mouth. “You’re my favourite!” 

He pointed at Harry, who grinned.  
“Hey!” Louis protested, “I’m the one who ordered!”  
“Yeah but he paid”, Niall replied, causing Louis to pout.

“Aww. Look at you. So adorable”, Harry cooed and Louis kicked him in the shins. Harry retaliated by grabbing Louis’ arms and pulling them to his chest, effectively trapping him. Louis didn’t give up though. He hooked a foot under Harry’s lower leg and managed to make him lose balance long enough to get the upper hand.

And it was then, as they were play-fighting in the booth, Niall the traitor egging on Harry, that the shadow fell over them. Louis was totally _not_ exaggerating when he said he felt his blood freeze in his veins. He knew by the shape and size of the shadow alone, who was standing behind him. Because that’s how well he knew his friend, Liam Payne. 

A glowering Liam Payne who opened his mouth to snap, “Since when is this considered _homework_?”

 

Louis gulped, slowly untangling himself from Harry, who was studying Liam with guarded eyes. 

“Li!” Niall grinned, either oblivious to the tension or ignoring it. One never knew with that lad. “Have you met Harry?”

“No, I don’t think I’ve had the _pleasure_ ”, Liam said, almost coldly. Harry’s eyes darted to Louis who licked his lips, trying to formulate the words.

“Um, did I forget to mention?” Louis laughed nervously, avoiding Liam’s eyes but he could still feel them burning a hole through his skull. “Harry and I are friends now. He’s…he’s a great bloke. Lovely guy. Charming, really. Did I mention we’re friends?”

He cut off his rambling with a wince, shooting Harry a glare when he saw the boy trying to bite back a laugh. Out of all the situations Louis had ever been in, this was the least hilarious of them all!

“Yeah, you might have mentioned it twice in the past minute”, Liam replied, his voice not having thawed at all, “Funny how you didn’t feel the need to mention it in the last two months!”

Louis opened his mouth to say something then closed it again when Harry spoke.

“Actually, that was probably my fault”, he said, leaving Louis to gape at him, “I…ah, I’m not the most social of people so I told Louis to not tell anyone yet. Just because I was kind of nervous about meeting you guys. It’s really all my fault”.

Liam’s eyes softened slightly and, after a long moment of consideration, he finally sighed.

“Okay. Well”, his eyes still studied Harry with mistrust but he gave Louis a small smile. “No more keeping secrets”.

Louis thought about all the kisses him and Harry shared. He kept his gaze on the table as he said, “Yeah, of course”.

 

The rest of the evening went surprisingly alright, especially when Zayn showed up looking for Harry and successfully distracted Liam from the way he was glaring at the curly-haired boy.

It was only later that night as Harry lay in Louis’ bed, after a bad nightmare that the lad softly said, “Liam doesn’t like me, does he?”

Louis sighed and brushed a hand over Harry’s soft hair.  
“It’s not that he doesn’t like you. He’s just overprotective of me. Always has been. He’ll come around, I promise”.

Louis could sense Harry’s doubt so he leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss to his lips. “I promise”, he murmured, “Liam cares about the people I care about”.

He felt rather than saw Harry smile against his collarbone.

“Goodnight, Lou”, he murmured and it was only when Harry’s breath evened out that Louis allowed himself to drift off too, his arms wrapped around his little spoon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this wasn't my best writing but I hope it will tide you over until the next update. Comments, as always, would be lovely! <3 xx


	18. An Unforgettable Walk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry takes Louis on a walk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You are all so amazing with the kudos and comments! Thank you so much for all the support! You have no idea how much it means to me <3 xx  
> Here's another chapter. Hope you like it :)

"Lou! Louis! Wake up!" 

"Shut up", Louis mumbled, turning over and hiding his head under his pillow. It was Saturday, which meant he could sleep in. It was also a couple of weeks before the Christmas break, which he'd be going home for and he knew he wasn't going to get a wink of sleep with six other excited children in the house. He needed as much as he could get!

"Tomlinson, get your arse up! We're going on a walk!" The command would've been more effective had it not ended with an almost whine of annoyance.

Louis groaned as a weight pressed down on his lower back and he knew that Harry had jumped onto the bed. He was determined to get Louis up- just like he had been last week when he had wanted Louis to teach him how to brew the ‘perfect’ cup of tea at bloody six' o' clock in the morning! When Harry got into one of these moods, nothing could dissuade him.

Louis tried to get the last precious few seconds of sleep but Harry was now hitting him over the head with…Teddy?

"Do you really want that bear to lose his other eye?" Louis snarled and he heard Harry giggle before the pillow was wrenched off of him.

"Come on, Lou! Let's go!"

Louis gave a long suffering sigh and sat up on his elbows, glancing at the clock on his bedside table.

"Harry" Louis grimaced, "It's 3am! Can't you wait 'till the sun's out, at least?"

But Harry was already pulling on his arm, dragging him out of bed and practically pushing him into the bathroom.

"Nope! We have to go for a walk. I want to show you something", Harry said, grinning and all Louis wanted was to be annoyed at him but how could he be when he had that fucking adorable, dimpled smile on his face? Stupid dimples and stupid hair and stupid green eyes. Louis was a sucker for everything that had to do with Harry Styles!

"A walk?" Louis repeated like an idiot, standing by the bathroom door as Harry ran back into Louis' bedroom and came out with a handful of clothes. It had been over a month since Louis' conversation with Zayn and him and Harry had only gotten closer since, often sleeping in the same bed when the nightmares came. Louis didn't mind at all. He secretly looked forward to those nights. "You want to go for a walk? Right now, Hazza?"

Harry nodded but his smile faded a bit.  
"It's..it has to be now. I have to show you something. It's…important to me".

And that was all Louis needed to hear. If it was important to Harry, Louis would do it, no questions asked.

"Just give me five minutes, yeah? I'll be quick", Louis said and as he closed the bathroom door, he saw Harry's dimpled smile come back full force.  
So the lack of sleep was worth it. Yes. He was totally gone for Harry Styles and he knew it!

________________

 

They had snuck out of the school gates, which were locked at night but it turned out Zayn wasn't the only one with a Master key.

"They're handing those things out left, right and centre now", Louis grumbled but Harry only chuckled, grabbing Louis' hand as they left the school grounds.

But now, fifteen minutes later, Louis' feet were tired and he still had no idea where they were headed.

"Haz? Tell me something! I need motivation to keep going", he whined.

Harry's green eyes were sparkling and Louis had absolutely no idea how he could be so joyful in the morning. He wasn’t even sure if this time classified as ‘morning’. 

“We’re going to see Gemma”, he said and it was only because their hands were interlinked and because Harry was pulling him along that Louis didn’t come to a complete stop. To say he was shocked was an understatement.

“We’re going to see Gemma?” he asked, sounding a lot like a parrot.

Harry gave him a fond smirk. “That’s what I said, Lou”.

“Yeah. I know…I just…”, Louis wasn’t sure what to say. He wasn’t even supposed to know who Gemma was and here was Harry, casually telling him they were going to visit his sister.

“I think she’ll really like you”, Harry continued and Louis let himself be led along, unable to come up with a single response. “I’ve told her a lot about you”.

“All good things I hope?” Louis finally managed to say.

Harry gave a delighted chuckle at that and winked at him.  
“Mostly. I may have mentioned your last name. She hates it too, by the way”.

“Lovely”, Louis replied and it should have been weird, talking about Harry’s dead sister like this but he found that it seemed perfectly normal. Obviously, she was still a large part of Harry’s life and…hold on. His sister was buried near here?

“Did you grow up here, Haz?” Louis asked as they walked along. Harry’s steps faltered slightly but then he walked even faster, squeezing Louis’ hand.

“Come on”, he said, “Gemma stops talking when the sun comes up. She’s annoying like that”.

Which…okay. Alright. He could go with this.  
Whatever Harry wanted.

 

By the time they got to the cemetery, the first rays of sunlight were starting to creep over the grounds.

Harry pouted as he tugged Louis along to one of the tombstones and knelt in front of it.  
“She won’t talk for long now”, he said, sounding like a petulant child.

Louis didn’t know what to say so he just nodded, made a sympathetic sound and knelt beside Harry. 

The stone marked the grave of Gemma Rose Styles who had, as Zayn told him, passed away when Harry was only four years old.

“Gems?” Harry was whispering and Louis found himself watching the green-eyed boy, who suddenly seemed much younger than his years. “This is Louis. I told you I’d bring him to meet you one day, remember?”

The wind brushed through the leaves of the trees around them and Harry grinned.

“She remembers”, he explained to Louis, “And she says it’s lovely to meet you”.

Louis looked at the tombstone, feeling as if his answer would be very important. He rested his hand on it as he spoke, “It’s a pleasure to meet you too, Gemma. Harry loves you a lot”.

Harry spoke from beside him, “She wants to know what your favourite colour is”.

The way Harry was staring at him and biting his lip told Louis he was just as interested in the answer.  
“Well, it’s actually a funny story Gemma. See, I used to like black because back at my old school, I used to graffiti on the walls and that was the hardest colour to get off. It was hilarious seeing the Principal, who was a right prick by the way, getting riled up and vehemently cursing whoever was responsible for breaking the school budget on repainting”, he paused when he heard Harry chuckle and waited until he was certain the boy was looking at him before continuing. “So I would have said black at the time but then I came here and I found something better. Now, my favourite colour would have to be green”.

“Why?” Harry’s voice was quiet when he asked the question, those emerald eyes studying Louis’ face with careful intent, slightly guarded.

“It reminds me of you”, he said, turning to give Harry a quick smile before looking away and hoping he wouldn’t blush.

There was a moment of silence and then Harry laid his hand over Louis’, his thumb brushing over Louis’ knuckles. 

“Gemma’s gone now”, he murmured, “The sun’s up. She can’t talk anymore but she likes you. A lot”.

Louis glanced back to see Harry wearing a soft, almost bashful smile. He interlinked their fingers and brought them up to his lips, pressing a soft kiss against Harry’s skin. 

Harry’s eyes fluttered shut, a spark of happiness crossing his features before he stood up, pulling Louis with him.

“Do you come to visit Gemma often, Hazza?” Louis asked as they began to make their way out of the cemetery.

Harry nodded. “Yeah. Every morning since I first came to Stanford”.

Louis glanced at him when Harry’s arm came around his waist, pulling him closer. He didn’t protest, understanding that Harry needed to know he wasn’t alone and that Louis wasn’t going anywhere. 

Harry’s eyes were distant, letting him know that his thoughts were somewhere else so Louis just threw an arm around his shoulder and let him lead the way.

They walked for a while in silence, following a road that forked back towards the school. Harry was mulling something over in his head, Louis could tell, but he never asked. It was about ten minutes of silence later that Harry suddenly spoke, so quiet Louis almost missed it.

“Zayn doesn’t know”.  
Louis blinked before realising that was all Harry was going to say.  
“Doesn’t know what, Haz?” he asked, not certain how far to push it.

Harry sighed and his grip on Louis tightened slightly.  
“That Gemma’s here. My…mother and I moved away a year after Gemma’s death. Zayn and my parents don’t know that this is where I used to live”.

When Harry glanced at Louis, he could see a trace of guilt in the green pair.  
“I couldn’t tell them”, Harry explained, suddenly feeling that it was vital Louis knew the reason behind his deceit, “If they’d known, they wouldn’t have let me come to the Stanford here and I’d never get to see Gemma again. They’d be trying to protect me but I _have_ to see her, Lou! She…she meant a lot to me”.

Louis nodded. “I get it, Harry. If I were you, I’d have probably done the same thing”.

Harry’s shoulders slumped with relief at that before he gave Louis a small but genuine smile. 

“I’m glad only you know”, he said, quietly.  
“Why did you tell me, Harry?” Louis asked, curious. Harry was usually so closed off about his past. He wasn’t sure what had changed, what had prompted him to let Louis in.

Harry’s eyes filled with an unrecognisable emotion before he looked away and murmured, “It felt right. That you should know. You’re my best friend, after all”.

Louis bit his lip but nodded. What had he been expecting? A declaration of love?  
He would take what he could get at this point. Best friend. Yeah, he’d live with that.

There was still so much he didn’t know about Harry, he realised as they walked back into the school grounds. He didn’t know how Gemma died or what had happened to Harry’s parents or why he was adopted by the Maliks. The closer he got to the boy, the more clearly he could see that Harry Styles was a diamond with a thousand complex facets. He wasn’t sure if he’d ever be allowed to discover them all but, as Harry grabbed his hand to run up the stairs to their dorm, all smiles once more, he found himself hoping he would.

Time, Zayn had said. Give him time. Unfortunately for Louis, patience had never been his forte.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit of drama up ahead but don’t worry, it shall all be resolved by the end of the next chapter :)  
> And you’ll find out Harry’s full story very, very soon.  
> Any guesses on what it might be? Let me know in the comments. Love to you all <3 xx


	19. Not Jealous

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Louis is NOT jealous...except he actually is.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How can I thank you all for the comments and kudos you’ve been giving me? I’m hoping this update lets you know how grateful I am for all your support!  
> So, without wasting any more of your time, here’s the next chapter :) xx

It was funny, Louis thought, how he and Harry had gone from fighting all the time to hardly fighting at all. Maybe that was why this felt so momentous to him.

Because here he was, standing in Harry’s room, screaming at the curly haired lad, who was shouting right back at him. Not their first fight, no, but definitely their first in a long while. And this time, Louis had to deal with stupid things like feelings getting in the way to make it even more difficult to handle!

 

The day had started off innocently enough, if he thought back on it. He had been woken up at five in the bloody morning by the excited human personification of a kitten-Harry Styles. The reason for the early wake up call was even more surprising.

“Flower crowns, Lou!” Harry had pretty much pulled back his blankets and _carried_ the still half-asleep Louis to their living room. 

“Wh..what?” Louis had fought back a yawn then given a startled yelp when Harry, unceremoniously, dumped him on the couch. On the coffee table, there was an array of different coloured flowers.

“I went out and picked them this morning on the way back from visiting Gemma”, Harry stated with a dimpled grin and Louis blamed those dimples for the butterflies in his stomach. Or maybe that was hunger? Shit, he needed some tea ASAP. 

But Harry wasn’t going to let him go anywhere until Louis committed to learning the intricate art that was flower-crown weaving.

“You said you wanted to learn”, Harry pointed out when Louis tried to wheedle his way out of it.

“Yeah but I didn’t mean before the fucking rooster crowed!” he answered, running a hand through his messy hair. Harry fixed him with a look that embodied a hurt kitten and Louis felt his resolve crumble. Damn it!

“Fine”, he sighed, biting his lip so he wouldn’t break out into a grin as Harry’s eyes lit up with unconcealed joy. “But I’m going to be terrible at it!”

“That’s okay”, Harry grinned, grabbing a bunch of flowers and passing some to Louis, “We have plenty of time to perfect it”.

And so, they had made flower crowns, moving to sit cross-legged on the floor and giggling over the most ridiculous things as Harry attempted to teach Louis.

“Come on, Lou”, he’d chuckled at one point, “I could do this when I was four!”

“Well yippee”, Louis muttered, sarcastically, frustrated that his crown had somehow, yet again, turned out wonky, as if it had been hit with a bludger several times. “Look at me! I’m Harry Styles and I could make flower crowns when I was four! I get the ‘cool kid’ award of the year!”

“Shut up, Tomlinson”, Harry snarked back but he was grinning from ear to ear, which somewhat reduced the effect of his words. 

So, all in all, it had been a lovely morning. Harry had come down to breakfast with Louis, given him a parting grin and went over to sit at Zayn’s table. 

Louis had sat with Liam and Niall. Liam had, finally, come around to the idea of Harry and Louis being friends but he still wasn’t entirely comfortable with the notion of Harry joining their table. Not that Harry seemed to mind. He insisted he was happy sitting with Zayn until Liam was ready. Louis wasn’t entirely certain Liam would ever be ready! 

Niall had, upon pain of death, promised to _never_ mention the one kiss he had seen Louis and Harry exchange that day in their apartment and Louis had never told anyone about the other, less innocent kisses, they still sometimes shared.

They were friends. That was good enough for Louis…for now, anyway. 

But all such thoughts left his mind in English class when he found the normally empty seat beside Harry had been taken by some new girl with the looks of a supermodel who had joined the school year far too late. That wouldn’t have been so bad had she not been blatantly _flirting_ with the aforementioned boy.

Louis didn’t know where her hometown was but he spent the rest of the class fervently wishing she would “go backeth to whence thou came from”, as Shakespeare might have said. At one point, Harry gave a small smile at something she whispered and Louis _may_ have accidentally thrown his book at her head. Complete mistake, of course, as he tried to explain to the teacher, who was trying to soothe the disgruntled girl. Books had a habit of slipping out of his hands. It was all perfectly accidental. 

For fuck’s sake, it couldn’t have even hurt as much as the girl was making it out to have! It was just a paperback after all! 

Harry, for his part, simply smirked and stayed silent, knowing their teacher knew better than to give Louis detention when he was a friend of both the Malik children. Owning the school certainly had its perks!

He had even given Louis a smile when Louis had glared at him. So, it was absolutely zero surprise that, as soon as their lesson finished, Louis decided to skip the next class and head to his room to scream his frustrations out into a pillow. Unfortunately for him, Harry was just a step behind him and didn’t seem to get the hint when Louis gave him the finger.

“Lou”, Harry tried to say but Louis just walked faster. He knew he shouldn’t care who Harry flirted with. It really shouldn’t matter to him because they were just _friends_. His rational mind knew that but his emotive side was red with rage and green with jealousy and every other colour of the fucking rainbow!

He headed straight for Harry’s room because it was clear the boy wouldn’t leave him alone and Harry followed quietly, closing the door behind them.

“Louis”, he tried again but Louis cut across him.

“Why the fuck were you flirting with her?” he hissed because, even though he shouldn’t care, he did!

“I wasn’t…” Harry began only to be cut off again.

“Really? Because you sure could’ve fooled me! Giggling at her jokes, which probably weren’t even funny in the first place. Let me guess-they were fucking knock knock jokes, weren’t they?”

“What? No, I wasn’t even laughing…” Harry started and then he paused suddenly, considering. The worried look in his eye turned positively wicked as his lips curled up into a smirk. “I know why you’re angry. You were jealous”.

It was absolutely ridiculous and far too close to the truth for Louis’ liking.

“I was not!” he immediately snapped back, defensively. 

“Oh, so I suppose the pencil that nearly hit her in the eye wasn’t yours then?” Harry raised a pointed eyebrow and it wasn’t fucking fair because he’d learnt that look from Louis! It was _Louis’_ look and he still pulled it off better!

“I hate to break it to you Styles, but not everyone you meet wants to sleep with you”, Louis retorted. Insults were good. Insults meant keeping far away from the truth and Louis was perfectly willing to do that.

Harry scoffed, running a hand carelessly through his gorgeously curly locks. Louis was only distracted for a second before Harry’s voice snapped him back to reality.

“Well, if you’re not jealous then you won’t care to know that I’ve had ample propositions from women and men alike. I’m desirable”, Harry smirked but it didn’t quite reach his eyes.

And Louis, who had just stated that he was _not_ jealous, felt the annoyingly tight tendrils of jealousy claw its way up his body.

“No, you’re just easy”, he spat back and saw Harry’s face darken. Good. He was angry. That was an emotion Louis could deal with unlike all the others that were scrambling for purchase in his mind. 

“Take that back”, Harry’s tone was low, dangerous and Louis absolutely did _not_ feel a thrill of pleasure race up his back from the sound. 

“It’s not like you can deny it”, Louis continued, spurred on by the way Harry’s eyes were flashing with barely suppressed rage. He wanted to make him lose control, wanted to see what he’d do. Louis was, quite possibly, insane. 

“I am anything but easy!” Harry growled and Louis gave a humourless chuckle.

“Uh huh. How many people have you slept with then?”

“Why do you care?” 

Louis scoffed, “See, you can’t even think of the number of people you’ve let touch your body! Did you even _care_ about any of them?”

“At least they all looked a right sight better than you!” Harry snarled back. Louis knew it was just a dig to try and hurt him, the same way he’d tried to hurt Harry but it really did fucking hurt!

He had always been, just the slightest bit, self-conscious about his own looks. He still had a bit of excess fat on his stomach that no amount of exercise would get rid of, his arse, in his opinion, looked too big and shapely and he was annoyingly shorter than most guys his age. He covered it up with false confidence and bravado but honestly, Louis had never considered himself to be a looker. His ex-boyfriend had told him as much when they had broken up but it hadn’t hurt nearly as much as it did when it came from Harry. 

And, obviously, the rational part of Louis' mind completely shut off at that point because, instead of insulting him back, he found himself reaching up in a haze of anger. The slap he gave Harry wasn’t hard but it still echoed around the room. He stepped back, prepared for the full onslaught of Harry's temper.   
But what he saw was far more terrifying. 

When Harry lunged for him, Louis couldn't even think about reacting as he caught sight of his gaze. His dark, hungry, lust-filled gaze.

Louis was suddenly standing with his back against the wall, his arms pinned above him and he hated how his body responded when he realised Harry was holding his hands prisoner with just one of his own. The other hand was firmly holding Louis’ waist and before he had fully understood what was happening, he felt a hot mouth on his collarbone, licking and biting with ferocity. Marking him.

And call him pathetic but he whimpered, hating and loving it at the same time.

“Fuck you”, Harry breathed, his voice shaking slightly, “What are you doing to me? Why can’t I keep my distance with you?” and then his mouth was on Louis', hard and forceful. 

He felt Harry bite his lower lip, causing his mouth to open in a cry and then his tongue was inside, battling with Louis' own, exploring his oral cavity. His hand was reaching down, lower, lower.

Louis moaned as he felt Harry cup his bulge over the material of his pants in a purposeful manner. He thought the boy would say something cutting, humiliate him for being turned on by this (because surely there was something wrong with him! He ought to see a psychiatrist!) but Harry only kissed him harder, forcing his lips to mould against his own as he palmed Louis roughly.

And it was driving Louis wild, the way Harry's mouth devoured him, the slight throbbing of the mark Harry had bitten into his collarbone and the heat of his hand as it squeezed his rapidly inflating cock.

"Fuck!" Harry pulled away slightly, looking down at Louis, who had half-glazed eyes. 

Louis saw something pass through those green eyes as they locked with his but before he could understand what it was, Harry was kissing him again, hard and bruising, cradling his head between his hands and Louis wanted more. He _needed_ more.

"Bed", Harry panted between kisses, his hands already dragging Louis towards it, "Now!"  
And even though Louis knew there was something horribly wrong with this situation and that friends didn’t use sex to help solve their problems, he didn't care at the moment.

It seemed like seconds before he was shirtless and lying back on the soft bed, Harry looming above him. 

Louis couldn't stop his hands from reaching up and tangling through his hair. The soft locks brushed against his palm, interlocking his fingers within them and he looked up to see Harry staring back at him, eyes dark with unconcealed desire.

Harry found him desirable? He barely had a moment to reflect on the boy’s hurtful words from before and how they were so at odd with his gaze. Further thoughts were driven from his mind when Harry's warm lips collided against his again. This time though, Harry gave Louis’ hands free reign, completely focused on making the boy beneath him cry with pleasure.

Louis brushed his palms under Harry’s shirt and over the smooth skin of his back, feeling the taut muscles ripple under his fingers. Harry's hands were everywhere, stoking the fire within Louis. They tweaked his nipples to make him arch up before moving lower down his abdomen, caressing the skin with surprising gentleness that was the exact opposite to his lips, which were now suckling marks against Louis’ neck. 

Louis vaguely registered the sound of his pants being unzipped and pulled down but he didn’t have the energy to do anything more than moan as a hot hand was wrapped around his aching member. Harry was unrelenting in his assault, variating between soft strokes to Louis' cock and hard pulls that still felt incredible, drowning Louis’ cries of pleasure with his mouth. 

God, Louis needed more. He craved more.

When Harry's hands came down to rest against Louis' hips, thumbing lightly at the skin there, Louis felt as if his heart was going to explode. If he had to die, what a way to go!

He felt Harry's clothed cock rubbing against his and the friction, just that small amount of it, made him see stars. He may have moaned. Louis didn't know anymore. All he knew was that his body was experiencing something it had never known before and Harry was the one doing it to him.

“Babe, please?” he didn't mean to say that endearment. It just slipped out, sounding husky but when he opened his eyes, Harry's face was almost anguished.

"What? Did I…?" Louis tried to ask but Harry's lips were suddenly pressing against his again, almost desperate in their ferocity.

Louis moaned into his mouth as he felt him thrusting against his skin, providing delicious friction for his cock. 

"Lou", it took Louis a moment to realise Harry was speaking to him. He managed to keep his eyes open long enough to look into Harry's, to see he was on the verge.

Louis moved his head so his neck was exposed to Harry and he heard him groan. 

Louis felt his own climax edge closer as Harry's mouth nibbled on the skin of his neck, his tongue soothing the area intermittently. His thumb came up to rub against Louis’ wet slit, causing him to hiss and arch further into the intoxicating touch. 

They were both close now, so close. Instinctively, Louis pulled on Harry’s hair, his fingernails scratching his scalp lightly and he felt the precise moment Harry lost control, felt it in the way his body tightened and breath stuttered, heard it in the slow moan of his name that Harry let out and that alone was enough to make Louis come. The waves of pleasure crashed through him, making him see nothing but white and the only thing that kept him from floating away was the feel of Harry’s arms, tight around him, tethering him to reality.

They both lay there, breathing heavily, as they came down from the high of their orgasms.

When Harry rolled off of him, Louis knew he should get up, knew he should go to his room and take a shower and pretend like this had never happened. Because friends didn’t do these kinds of things. Not even best friends.

But he was too limp to move, his energy having been expended from their activity. And Harry, the bastard, knew that if his smirk was anything to judge by.

“You were jealous”, Harry’s voice was wrecked when he finally spoke and Louis had to bite back a moan at the thought that he’d affected him so much. 

“You came in your pants“, Louis muttered back once he was certain he had his own voice under control but he didn’t deny the claim. It seemed kind of pointless considering the situation.

Harry gave a low groan in answer that made Louis chuckle.  
“Haven’t done that since I was thirteen”, Harry murmured and, when Louis glanced over, he saw the curly-haired lad was blushing.

If he hadn’t been so bloody tired, he would have teased him about it for longer.

“Should we…” Louis sighed, shifting to his side to see Harry better. “We should talk about…what we just did”.

“I’m hoping”, Harry drawled back, “That I blew you away with my sexual prowess. Ruined you for any other man”.

Louis scoffed. “Dream on, Styles”.

“Oh, I do”, Harry smirked but his eyes were still slightly glassy, which just served to make him look like a harmless kitten, “I dream and fantasise a lot but I’m still fairly sure you rub one out in the shower more often than me”.

“I hate you”, Louis said after a few moments of silence in which he tried, and failed, to find the willpower to move.

"The feeling's mutual, darling”, Harry's voice was low and soothing and the endearment just sounded so natural on his lips, it made something warm unfurl inside Louis. 

“So, talk?” Louis murmured, feeling sleepy.

“Later”, Harry replied, fighting a yawn, “After we sleep. Later, I promise”.

“‘Okay. I’m the little spoon today”, Louis answered, fighting a yawn of his own.

He heard Harry chuckle and, as he felt himself drifting off, a pair of arms wrapped around him, holding him securely. Fingers brushed his fringe back and pressed a soft kiss to the skin there. Louis just snuggled closer to the warm body of his companion. Just as he was on the verge of sleep, he swore he heard a deep voice murmur, “I lied. You’re the prettiest, Lou”. 

Louis may have smiled in his sleep. Harry may have tangled their legs together and buried his nose against Louis’ hair. No one but them had to know what went on behind closed doors.

 

_____________________________

 

Harry hadn’t had a nightmare last night. He never did when he was sleeping with Louis but this time, he had dreamt about her. Gemma. It was a memory from his childhood, one of the few happy ones.

 

_“When I’m all grown up, H, I’m going to go far away from here. Away from this town, away from Mummy and I’m going to take you with me”._

_Harry blinked up at his sister, wide-eyed and curious. “But where are we gonna go?” he finally asked._

_“We’ll…we’ll travel”, Gemma thought out loud, sounding confident, “Yeah, we’ll go to all kinds of exotic places! Maybe I’ll buy a boat and we can sail across the seas. We’ll meet all sorts of people too…”_

_“Like mermaids?” Harry asked._

_Gemma chuckled, “Of course! It wouldn’t be an adventure without mermaids, would it? And pirates and dragons”._

_“And princes?”_

_Gemma grinned at him then. “Ah, but you forget, H. You are a prince! You know why?”_

_“Because I wear a crown!” Harry laughed, familiar with the game.  
Gemma nodded, giggling as she climbed off the bed and hunted through her desk to find the flower crown she’d made earlier that day. _

_“Here you are. A flower crown for the fairest prince in the land”, she smiled as she placed in in his curls and Harry’s eyes sparkled._

_“Thank you, Princess Gemma”, he replied, his dimples coming out when she laughed at his cuteness._

_“Not a problem, Prince Harry. Now, budge over so I can cuddle you!”_

_Even when their mother came back late that night, cursing and banging into furniture in her drunken state, Harry didn’t feel scared. Because he was a Prince and he had Princess Gemma to protect him. They’d go on so many fabulous adventures! He just had to become a big kid first, wait a few more years…._

 

When Harry woke up, he stared at the boy next to him. In the early morning light, his tanned skin glowed, his hair was tousled in a way that could only be described as ‘sexy’ and his mouth was hanging open as he let out soft snores. Harry didn’t think he’d ever seen anyone more beautiful than Louis Tomlinson.

His fingers itched to touch him again, to bring him pleasure, to see him completely naked and at his mercy. But Harry also knew he couldn’t do that. He couldn’t take anything from Louis without giving him himself in return and divulging his past. Louis was the first and only person who Harry had ever even considered telling about his childhood. It was a difficult story, one he would never entirely be prepared to tell. Zayn knew bits of it as did his parents and what they didn’t know, they’d pieced together and been satisfied with. 

Harry had imagined he’d go through life, clinging to the secrets of his past, trying to squash down the shadows that tore at him every time he felt even a trace of happiness but now, he was starting to think that maybe he didn’t have to hide it. Maybe, if Louis was by his side, he could fight it and maybe, he could win. 

With Louis, he wanted more, wanted something he’d never even considered with other people. He wanted to have a relationship with him that extended outside this room; he wanted to be able to hold his hand in public and take him to bed at night without feeling guilty; he wanted everything that was Louis Tomlinson and it was only fair that in return, he give him everything that was Harry Styles…as little as that might be. If Louis chose to run after this, if he left, Harry couldn’t blame him. Any sane person would, really.

He was nervous but he knew he wanted Louis to know everything about him. 

_____________________

 

When Louis woke up, far too early, the next morning, the spot next to him on the bed was empty and there was a note stuck to the mirror with writing in a familiar hand. It took him a moment to realise he was still in Harry’s room and he spent a good five minutes freaking out he’d ruined everything. He grabbed the note from the mirror, trying to prepare himself for the rejection and he had to read it a few times before he understood what it meant. It was the answer to his question from the evening before. 

Did you even care about the people you slept with, Louis had asked.

There, in carefully printed letters, were three words:

 

_‘Only you, Lou’ -H_

 

He stepped out into the living room with an uncontainable smile. The fact that Harry had brought him a muffin for breakfast, only made his smile widen, He was slightly disappointed to see Harry himself had already left for the morning but then he spotted a freshly brewed teapot on the coffee table and, in front of it, was another note:

 

_‘I made tea! Meet me at the school gates when you’re done. I want to tell you about my childhood’._

 

Louis felt his heart rate pick up at the enormity of what Harry was about to do. He wanted to tell him about his past. The time, it seemed, had finally come.

And Louis didn’t bother biting back the smile that took over his face. Maybe he hadn’t ruined things, after all. Maybe, he’d finally gotten something right.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can I get a Hallelujah? The sexual tension between Louis and Harry was killing me! They’re not in a relationship yet by any means but they’ll get there. First, there’s the matter of learning Harry’s story which will _finally_ be revealed in the next chapter.  
>  Any guesses on what it might be? A comment would be lovely <3 xx


	20. Always Stay

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry tells Louis about his childhood.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to all of you lovely people for the comments and kudos on the last chapter! Sorry for keeping you waiting but this chapter was harder to write than I expected. I think it's my longest chapter so far?  
> I'm going to put a **Warning for abuse/self-harm** in this chapter. If this is a trigger for you, please take care when reading.  
>  It goes without saying, of course, that all the characters in this story are fictional and are in no way meant to reflect anyone’s real-life personality. 
> 
> Okay, I think that’s everything. You may want to get a box of tissues ready! Now, on with the show…

Louis smiled at Harry when he met him by the school gates. They walked in comfortable silence for a while, each lost in their own thoughts. 

Louis didn’t ask where they were going. He trusted the green-eyed boy for reasons he couldn’t explain. Memories of last night came back to him, unbidden. How Harry had felt under his hands, how he had tasted as they kissed, the noises he had made when the pleasure became too much. He shook himself out of such thoughts and focused instead on Harry’s words as the boy began to speak, hand firmly linked with Louis’.

“I don’t remember much from when I was little”, Harry began, “Actually…that’s a lie. I remember a lot but I don’t remember much of the happy times. My mother, Roxanne, she never liked me much”.

Louis wanted to protest but he bit his tongue, knowing Harry had to let it all out. Everything he thought and felt, no matter how painful it might be to listen to.

“My dad, Luke, left us when I was born. Mother always said it was my fault. I believed her for a long time before I found out that she’d cheated on him. I was an accident, the kid of some nameless stranger she’d met in a club one night while drunk. She’d pretended I was Luke’s kid until the day I was born. I saw a picture of him when I was little. I looked nothing like him. He obviously realised that too because he left and never looked back. It hurt Gemma a lot, that he’d abandon her so easily and Mother…she was never quite the same afterwards. It took me a long time to figure out what had happened but then…I guess it all kind of made sense. Why she hated me, that is. In her mind, I was the reason she lost her husband, I was the reason he left her and Gemma and got married to some other lady. I never knew my real dad. He's probably married with three kids and a dog without even knowing he has a kid like me”, he chuckled, self-deprecatingly. Louis squeezed his hand harder in response, a silent form of comfort. 

 

Harry took a few deep breaths before continuing.

“Gemma was all I had in the world, really. She was nine years older and she was still a kid at the time but she was more a Mum to me than my actual mother ever was. Mummy…she loved Gems. A lot. She would always say how pretty she was and what a beautiful girl she’d grow up to be, how talented she was at drawing and writing. And she was. She was all of those things! But then Mummy would turn to me and start shouting about how I was her worst mistake and Gemma would jump in and stop her before she could reduce me to tears. Sometimes, when I got really sad, Gems would take me for a walk and we’d come here”.

Louis looked away from Harry’s face to see that they were now standing in a park. Harry was leading them towards an alcove, slightly off the main path, surrounded by multicoloured, flowering bushes and the sweet lullaby of birds. 

“Gemma would get me to pick my favourite colour”, Harry continued, brushing a hand over one of the flowers. “Then she’d weave it into a flower crown and put it on me and tell me I was prettier than her, which wasn’t true but it was still nice to hear. She was the only one who ever really loved me, Lou. Before Zayn and his parents, I mean. She was…God, I loved her so much”.

He sat down on the grass and Louis sat next to him, unable to tear his eyes away from Harry. Right now, sitting here with his shoulders hunched, Harry looked tiny. Vulnerable.

“You might not want to talk to me after this, Louis”, he murmured, wrapping his arms around himself. Louis wanted nothing more than to hug the boy against him, press kisses to his face and take away that pain of rejection he was clearly feeling.  
But he settled for saying, “I’m not going anywhere, Hazza. I’ll be right here”.

Harry gave a half-hearted chuckle and mumbled, “Yeah, we’ll see”, before taking another deep breath. When he finally started talking, even the birds were silent.

 

“I was four when…it happened”, Harry’s voice was deeper now and he was blinking faster, as if trying to keep the tears away. “My mother never let me go to birthday parties or anything. She’d let Gemma but I wasn’t…she hated me so I wasn’t allowed to have fun. Gemma told her it was unfair. She fought with my mum a lot but I remember this one fight in particular because she was fighting for me. One of my best friends was celebrating his birthday at McDonalds and I really wanted to go so Gems finally convinced our mother to let me. But halfway through the party I got sick. Came down with a fever”.

Harry remembered it well, the memory he had tried so hard to forget, which still came back to him with painful clarity. 

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

_Flashback_

He could still recall the shouts of laughter of the other children as he pressed his hot head against the cool table top and then someone’s mum coming up to him to ask if he was okay.

“My head hurts”, Harry had murmured back and they had told him not to worry and that they’d call his mother. He hadn’t expected Mummy to show up but she had, in their old, worn-down car, looking angry but not any angrier than usual.

“Come on then”, she’d snapped at Harry and he had run after her, jumping into the car and putting on his seat belt as they drove back home. 

“Gemma?” he remembered Mummy on the phone, talking to his sister. “I’ve picked him up. Where are you? Is the piano recital over?”

There was a moment of silence as she listened to Gemma speak on the other end.

“Okay. You’re sure you can walk back by yourself?”

Harry could hear Gemma’s sigh of exasperation through the phone.  
“Mum! I’m thirteen not three. It’s only a ten minute walk. Get Harry home. Make sure he’s in bed and has some soup or something. Actually, can you give the phone to him?”

Mummy hadn’t been happy about that but she handed the phone over anyway. No one could refuse Gemma anything.

“Gems!” Harry had almost screamed with happiness. His sister always made him smile. 

“Hey H”, she’d chuckled back, “Guess what I did today?”

“Piano revival”, he quoted their mother’s words as best as he could.

Gemma giggled. “ _Recital_ , Harry. But before that. Guess what I made?”  
And Harry knew exactly what she had made because this was a game of theirs.

“Hmm”, Harry grinned, pretending to think, “Did you make a…horse?”

Gemma laughed, “Nope. Try again”.

“Um…a sword?”

“One last chance”, Gemma crowed.

“A crown! A flower crown!” Harry shouted into the phone, earning a glare from his mother.

“You got it, H. Such a clever boy!” Gemma cooed, “I left it on my bed. You can go in and get it once you feel better”.

“Thank you, Gems!” Harry grinned and Gemma had laughed, telling him she loved him and she’d see him soon.

 

Except, when they had gotten back home, she hadn’t been there. And, even after an hour, she wasn’t home. His mum had forgotten all about Harry as normal, so he had snuck into Gemma’s room and put on the flower crown. It was beautiful as always. Harry was tired so he climbed onto her bed. 

Gemma never minded if he slept on her bed. Sometimes, she’d cuddle him and tell him stories about how, one day, when she was old enough, she’d buy a boat and take him with her. They’d sail across the oceans and she’d even take Harry to Neverland so he could meet Peter Pan!

 

But that night, she never came to cuddle him. Sometime after he’d fallen asleep, he heard the front door open and then he heard the screams and cries. He got up, slightly disoriented and walked towards the sound only to see his Mum grabbing her keys and running out. The policeman who had been talking to her saw Harry and picked him up.

“Your sister’s in the hospital”, he had explained to Harry, “Your Mum’s going there now. I’ll take you in my police car. We can even have the sirens on, if you’d like?"

And so, Harry had gotten a ride in a police car but he spent most of it crying because Gemma had gone to the hospital without him. He wondered if it was another one of the ‘big kid’ adventures she sometimes went on, when she’d climb up the treehouse with her friends and tell Harry she loved him but this was for big kids only. One day, she always promised him, he’d be big enough to join them. Harry was always waiting for that day. Maybe it would be today?

He hadn’t completely understood when a woman in a white coat came out and told his mother that they’d done everything they could but it hadn’t helped. She said something about a car and a hit and run and how the police were still tracing the number plate. All Harry understood was that something had happened to Gemma, that she wouldn’t be coming back home and his Mummy was very sad and very angry. Angry at him because if he hadn’t gotten sick, Gemma would be home right now. 

When a Nurse grabbed Harry’s hand and rushed after his mother, who was well on her way to the hospital’s exit, Mummy had looked anything but pleased.

“I know you’re upset, Ms.Styles”, the Nurse had said, “But your son needs you”.

Mummy had said nothing, just grabbed his hand and thrown him in the car. It was only when they got home and the front door had shut behind him that she started shouting. It was worse than normal because this time, Gemma wasn’t there to stop her.

“It’s all your fault!” she kept shouting while tears ran down her cheeks, “You and that stupid party! I should have gone to pick her up! This is all your fucking fault!”

Then she had marched into the kitchen and pulled out a knife, seating herself at the table. It looked sharp and Mummy’s eyes were almost wild with grief. She had terrified him as had the weapon she held clutched in her hand.

“Knives hurt, Harry”, she told him, her voice cracking, “Never play with knives. They hurt a lot”.

“M..Mummy?” Harry whimpered, hating the lost look in her eyes. Angry, he was used to dealing with. This though...it was something he'd never experienced before.

“They hurt”, she repeated, looking at the knife almost tenderly. It was a look she’d never used on him. “She’s gone, Harry. I need to…I have to feel something. Pain’s not so bad. It can’t hurt more than I already do”. She moved the knife towards her wrist but then paused, looking up at Harry, some kind of recognition flitting through her.

“Go to your room”, it was the most motherly thing she had ever said to him so Harry obeyed. 

 

His memory faded a bit after that. He remembered this routine being repeated for what could have been days, weeks or months. Four year olds weren’t the most reliable sources at time keeping.

Harry recalled that at some point, in the midst of all this, he had worn a small, black suit and stood in the rain, watching a coffin being lowered into the ground. Someone held his hand. It might have been the lovely lady from across the road who always smelled like cookies and who sometimes let him cuddle her cat. Someone else he didn’t recognise whispered to him that he would be able to go home soon. Lots of people were crying and when Harry asked out loud where Gemma was, the crying only increased. Finally, someone told him that Gemma had become an angel and gone to heaven. 

Harry cried then because she’d gone without him. He imagined Heaven was a bit like Neverland so she’d meet Peter Pan and angels had wings so she’d be able to fly. He wondered if she’d ever come back to visit him. When people threw flowers on top of the coffin, saying it was for Gemma, he couldn’t help but think she’d have liked flower crowns better. She was a Princess, after all! But he bit his lips and watched his mother, who was staring at the coffin in disbelief. 

His mother said nothing throughout the ceremony but when they got back, she’d sent him to his room and he’d caught the flash of a knife as she headed into the kitchen.

He recalled the day, over a year later, when they moved to a different city because she’d gotten a job as a maid in a rich household. He had cried when they left his childhood home, where memories of Gemma still lingered. As it was the holidays, his mother had taken him with her to work, not having any other choice. She told him to sit in the front yard and entertain himself, not really caring if he wandered off or got lost or sunburnt. Roxanne was past caring by this point. Caring hurt too much. She had, in a way, coped with her daughter’s death by switching off her own humanity. Harry was the unfortunate casualty of her decision.

 

Harry was utterly bored but too terrified to tell his mother so he went and found a rose bush and picked the flowers off it slowly, weaving them into a crown just like Gemma had taught him. He’d stayed there for hours, losing track of the time as he slowly worked on his creation. That was when the boy had come up to him.

He had warm, brown eyes and tanned skin and a lovely smile. Harry wasn’t used to seeing people smile. His Mummy never smiled anymore, probably because of the knives.

He sat down in front of Harry and told him he had pretty eyes and Harry had liked him at once because that sounded like something Gemma would say.

The boy’s name was Zayn Malik. He said he was on holiday and he lived in the house across the road. Then he told him about his favourite toys and invited Harry to come over and play with them but Harry shook his head and said his Mummy would get angry if he left.

“We’ll only play for a little while”, Zayn pleaded, grabbing Harry’s hand in his, “I’ve got this new red car. It has doors and a steering wheel and everything! Just like a real car! I'll let you drive it first”.

Harry was amazed at the thought of such a toy and he was just about to agree when his Mum marched out, having finished work for the day. 

She didn’t even look his way until Zayn asked, in a whisper that was far too loud, “Is that your Mummy?”

Then, she had turned to glare at the stranger and grabbed Harry’s hand, pulling him along with her and giving him a slap across the face for good measure.

“I’ve told you not to talk to strangers!” she hissed at the crying boy before throwing him into the back seat of the car and driving off. Zayn watched everything quietly, not entirely understanding why Harry’s mum had hit him. Zayn’s mum never did, only gave him timeouts if he was naughty, which he tried not to be…most of the time.

 

He asked his Mum, Sara, about it later that night as she was tucking him in bed.

“Why did she hit Harry?” he asked and his Mum sighed and explained that some parents sometimes gave their children correction slaps to make sure they didn’t do something naughty again.

“But Mum!” Zayn protested, “She hit his face! Harry was crying. It sounded like it really hurt!”

Sara’s eyes went wide, her mouth opening in a gasp of shock.  
“Are…are you sure Zayn? That she hit his face?” she asked and he nodded. He knew what he had seen. 

Sara bit her lip, considering what to do. Finally, she told Zayn to invite Harry over for lunch if he saw him the next day. 

Harry was thrilled when his new friend invited him.

“Will your Mummy mind?” Zayn asked, now slightly scared of the woman.  
Harry shook his head.  


“She forgets I need lunch”, he explained, “She’ll only call me when it’s time to go home”.

And that was how Harry had met Sara Malik, who always smiled and laughed and gave Harry an extra portion of dessert because he was, “Such a lovely boy!” Overall, it was one of the best days of Harry’s life, even though Sara asked him a lot of questions about his mother. Harry told her the truth because Gemma had always told him not to lie but when she asked him if he had any brothers or sisters, he just said his sister had gone to the hospital and never come back. She had dropped the subject after that.

Just before he left, Zayn whispered in his ear that his Mum had told him Harry could come over for a sleepover. Harry doubted that would be allowed, not if his own Mummy had anything to say about it, but he smiled and nodded anyway. He really loved Zayn’s family! He almost wished he could stay with them forever.

 

Later that night, his mother left Harry alone in the house as she often did, so he crawled under his bed and pulled out the box he kept there. From it, he took the wooden jumper that had once belonged to Gemma and pulled it over his head. It helped him with pretending she was still there, imagining her scent on the warm fabric. His mother had gotten rid of all the things that belonged to Gemma except for the few bits and bobs he had managed to salvage and hide in his box. He tucked the box back under the bed before crawling into bed, letting the oversized jumper calm him.

Hours later, he heard his Mum return and had known from the way she banged into things and cursing, that she was drunk or “not herself” as Gemma used to say on such nights. So, he did what Gemma always told him to do. Shut his eyes and stayed as quiet as possible. Except, tonight, his Mum decided to come into his room. She switched on the lights, saw him in bed wearing her daughter’s clothes and next thing he knew, she had thrown him off the bed and grabbed a knife from God knew where, screaming at him about how he had no right to touch that jumper.

“You took everything from me”, she screamed, her words slurred and slow, “It’s all your fault! Why aren’t you hurting, huh? Maybe I should hurt you like you hurt me! That's all you've ever done, isn't it? Hurt me?”

Harry was sobbing by this point, his mother’s voice only getting louder and higher pitched the closer she got. And the knife. Harry was terrified of the knife. He knew what she normally did with it. He knew knives hurt a lot. He couldn’t stop the tears when she cut the jumper off him, pulling the ruined fabric away and throwing it into the bin. Then, she came to stand in front of him again, knife still firm in her grasp. Harry began hyperventilating, struggling to catch his breath, on the verge of a panic attack. 

When the door suddenly banged open, his eyes stayed on the knife but his mother looked over, her mouth open in shock.

“What the hell are you doing in my house!?” she screamed at the troop of police officers that swarmed in with guns. Harry started crying even louder and then, there was a man in a uniform who knelt down beside him. 

“Harry?” he asked and Harry nodded, wondering how this man knew his name. The man smiled. “I’m Officer Lane. You’re safe now, alright? No one’s going to hurt you”.

Harry blinked up at him, tears still streaking down his cheeks but his sobs quietened down. 

“Does he have any other relatives?” a woman, wearing the same uniform, came up behind Officer Lane to ask. “Or should I contact Child Services?”

Officer Lane turned back to Harry, giving him another friendly smile as he asked, “Do you know anyone else in this city, Harry? Any Uncles or Aunts or Grandparents?”

Harry was about to shake his head but then he paused. 

“Z..Zayn”, he murmured.

“Zayn?” Officer Lane glanced back at his colleague who walked closer to them, kneeling down in front of Harry.

“Do you know Zayn’s last name, Harry?” she asked, softly and he nodded.

“Zayn Malik. H..his Mummy’s called Sara”, Harry said.

“Malik”, the police officer turned to stare at her colleague. “Would that be someone related to Yaser Malik? The business mogul?”

Officer Lane shrugged. “If it is, they’ll be easy to get in contact with. Find out if they know Harry. The paramedics want to make sure he’s okay so I’ll take him out to them”.

She nodded, gave Harry one last smile and walked away.

Officer Lane held out his hand, waiting until Harry tentatively grasped it before pulling him up. His knees trembled but before he could collapse on the floor, the larger man scooped him up, cradling him against his arms. 

Harry watched quietly as he said something to one of the other police officers, who were helping escort his mother out to the police cars. 

He was carried out to an ambulance where two smiling paramedics gently took him and placed him on a clean bed. 

“You’ll be okay now, darling”, one of them, a woman with dark hair and blue eyes smiled down at him. Harry believed her and finally fell into a deep sleep, exhausted by the day’s events.

 

When he awoke the next morning, he was in a hospital bed and a very familiar figure was standing beside it.  
Sara Malik stood with tears in her eyes and he had barely blinked his eyes open when she enveloped him in a warm hug, sobbing, “Oh! I’m so glad you’re okay, Harry! God, I was so worried something had…”

“Sara”, a deeper voice said, warmth in every word, “Let the poor boy breathe! He’s still recovering”.

“Right, of course! Yeah”, Sara stepped back but one of her hands held Harry’s. He found he quite liked the feeling of someone to hold onto. 

“We’re Zayn’s parents”, the man standing beside her told him, “My name’s Yaser and you’ve already met Sara”.

“We’re best friends, aren’t we Harry?” she grinned at him, causing him to giggle. The sound was strange to his ears. He hadn’t laughed much since Gemma had died. 

 

They chatted for a while and Harry found himself gradually relaxing, relieved his mother wasn’t there. But then he remembered how angry she had been the night before and his face fell. She would hate him even more now!

Sara seemed to pick up on some of his emotions because she said, “Harry, your mum’s gone away for a while. She’s being treated in a hospital far from here”.

“S..she’s sick?” Harry asked, face filled with confusion.  
Sara shared a look with her husband.

“Yes, honey. She’s sick”, she finally said.

“Is that why she liked the knives hurting her? And why she always gets angry with me?” he asked, innocently.

Yaser sucked in a breath but put on a smile for Harry’s benefit.  
“Yes, Harry. That’s why. She’s gone away to get better”, he answered.

“And in the meantime”, Sara added, “We were wondering if…would you like to live with us? Live with Zayn?”

And yes. Harry wanted that a lot but all he could think of saying was, “I hurt people. I hurt Gemma”.

He hadn’t understood why his words made Sara -normally smiling, happy, Sara- burst into tears. He didn’t really understand why Yaser clenched his fists and muttered something about how, “that woman should suffer for what she’s done to him!” But, when Zayn’s mum pulled him in for a hug and held him there, rocking him, Harry understood one thing he hadn’t felt in a long time. 

He understood what it felt like to be loved.

_End Flashback_

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

Louis wiped away the tears that had trickled onto his cheeks. Just listening to the story was draining him. He could only imagine how difficult this was for Harry, who had his eyes closed as he spoke, voice thick with unshed tears but determined to get to the end.

Harry took a deep breath and delved back into his memories.

 

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

_Flashback_

He remembered all too clearly the day his Mum had come back from the treatment facility. Zayn and his parents, who Harry had come to regard as his own, cried when she came to take him.

“I can’t believe they’re letting her keep him for a trial period of 3 months. After everything she put him through! The court system is flawed”, Yaser had muttered angrily while Sara soothed him through her tears and murmured, “I know but she is his mother. I don’t like it one bit but we don’t have the right to keep him away from her”.

“I wish we did”, Yaser gave Harry an extra big hug when he left to make up for the injustice. Zayn had to be physically pried away, the boy clinging to Harry and clawing at anyone who tried to pull them apart.

It took Sara and Yaser promising him that they would all go and visit Harry soon for him to finally let go, still crying.

Harry wasn’t doing much better at maintaining his composure. His Mum hadn’t understood why Harry was sad, couldn’t fathom how he’d gotten so attached to a group of people in twenty months. She didn’t understand why, to Harry, she was essentially a stranger who was taking him away from the place he had come to regard as home.

 

Things were good for a while though. Zayn and his parents called him every week to make sure he was okay. They asked him how he was, what his new school was like; Zayn spoke to him about the new action figure he’d gotten and how he’d bring it with him when they came to visit Harry. After those calls, Harry would miss them more than ever.

Roxanne really did try to do better but the stress that came with taking care of a seven-year old child was something she didn’t cope well with. Still, everything was fine for the first 3 weeks until the 4th year anniversary of Gemma’s death came around. 

Roxanne decided they should go and visit her daughter’s resting place and drove them back to the town he’d grown up in. It had been a beautiful day and, despite the sadness of the occasion, Harry had felt happy as he sat in the cemetery, whispering secrets to his sister. His Mum walked away after a while and he hurriedly said goodbye to Gemma when he heard the car’s engine start.

On the ride back, Roxanne had been silent, glaring at Harry if he sang along to the radio. It reminded him too much of how she’d used to be so he kept his head down and stayed quiet.

It was a week after that when Harry found a familiar knife lying on the kitchen table, covered in dried blood. It became more and more frequent as the month progressed until it was entirely too reminiscent of the early years of his childhood. Harry was scared but he remembered how Yaser had said the Court had allowed Roxanne custody over Harry for a trial period of three months. That’s how long he had to endure this. Just another two months. So, when Zayn called that evening and Sara asked him how he was, he faked a smile and said, “Good”. 

A week after that, Roxanne started drinking again. He never questioned his Mum, learning instead, how to quietly remove the weapons from her sight and stay out of the way when she was in one of her moods. But no matter how carefully he hid the knives, she’d always find another one.

 

Just when he thought things couldn’t get any worse, they did. A month and a half after she had taken him away from the Maliks, his Mum left him. He walked into the front room to see her closing her suitcase. 

“Mummy?” he asked, quietly, afraid to understand what was happening. She cried then, hugged him tightly like Gemma had used to do and told him she couldn’t do this anymore.

“I’m sorry!”, she cried, “For a while, I thought I could be a better mother, Harry but I’m sorry! I…I can’t do this. How can I look after you when I can’t even look after myself? I’ve got to…I need to go. Away. Have a break”.

She’d walked out of the house, almost in a trance. Harry thought about calling Zayn’s parents but the electricity cut off, his Mum having forgotten to pay the bills again. So, not having any other option, he had spent the next two days living off dry biscuits and canned soup. He was scared and angry and sad because, no matter what his Mum said or did, she was the only family he had left. Maybe a divine entity had been looking out for him because on the afternoon of the third day, a familiar car pulled into the drive. Harry had thrown open the front door before Zayn and his parents had even managed to park the car.

He’d been hugged by both Yaser and Sara and then by Zayn, who clung to him with fierce determination.

“We’re not leaving Harry again, are we?” he’d asked, glaring at his Dad when Yaser gently said, “Harry’s living with his Mum now, bub”.

“Where is your Mum, Harry?” Sara asked. She had missed him just as much as Zayn had, possibly even more. He was like a second son to her and the only reason she hadn’t rushed to see him sooner was because her husband had insisted they give Harry some time to get acclimatised to living with his Mum again.

“Um…she’s…not home at the moment”, Harry mumbled, hoping they’d drop the subject and perhaps they would have, if Zayn hadn’t picked up on Harry’s discomfort. After living together for nearly two years, Zayn knew Harry in a way only a sibling could.

“What’s wrong, Harry? Are you okay?” he asked and that immediately brought everyone’s attention back to him. 

“Harry”, Yaser asked, slowly, carefully, “Are you by yourself?”

He briefly considered lying then decided against it. He had never been a good lier anyway!  
He nodded in response.

“Where did your mother go? When will she be back?” Sara asked, sharing a glance with her husband, whose lips were drawn into a thin line.

“I don’t know”, Harry shrugged, “She was…tired”.

“Tired of what?” Yaser probed, brows furrowing with confusion.

“Of me”, Harry replied, his voice barely a whisper but the man caught it. Yaser’s eyes held something in them that was a mixture between anger and steely determination. He whispered something to his wife that had her nodding. Zayn was clinging to Harry and glaring at his parents, clearly showing them there was no way he was leaving without his brother. But, it seemed, his parents had no intention of leaving him, either.

“Harry”, Sara knelt down so she was eye-level with him, petting his curls in her familiar, motherly way “There’s something we’d like to ask you. Would you like to stay with us again?”

“Until my Mum gets back?” Harry asked, biting his lip.

“Well, we were thinking maybe more permanently? Both Yaser and I consider you our son and Zayn, of course, sees you as his brother. We would love to adopt you. You could move back in with us, away from here and go to school with Zayn again…if you’re okay with all that, of course”.

Harry wondered if he should have felt more guilty at the tendrils of joy that seemed to envelope his heart but Zayn was cheering loudly next to him and hugging him tight so he figured he was allowed to smile too.

“Yeah”, he’d whispered, “I’d love that”.

_End Flashback_

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

“Harry…” Louis couldn’t take it anymore. He hated to see the pain and hurt in Harry’s eyes that were normally so carefully concealed from the world by his confident attitude. The first day Louis had met him, he would never have guessed the things Harry had experienced in his life. 

But Harry shook his head, indicating he wasn’t finished just yet.

“They found my mother a week after that”, he continued, “I never got the exact details of her death but they said it was suicide. I thought, when I was younger, I used to think she hated me but afterwards, I realised she didn’t. Not really. She was just scared and confused and after she lost Gemma…she couldn’t hold on”, Harry gave a sad smile, “Life with the Maliks was amazing! I had a brother and parents who cared about me but there were still times when I..got scared. Even now, sometimes, I have nightmares about my mother saying everyone would leave me just like she did. I dream about Zayn hating me and my parents deciding they’d made a mistake in adopting me even though I know that wouldn’t happen in real life. But I hear Mummy’s voice reminding me that not even the woman who gave birth to me wanted me around. That’s when I have one of my…breakdowns, panic attacks, whatever you call it. I just have these moments where I believe my nightmares will come true; that everyone _will_ leave me the way she did, the way Gemma did. I know it’s stupid of me but when that happens, I feel like I’m four years old again”.

 

By the time Harry finished his story, Louis was in tears himself. When he pulled Harry into his lap, the boy didn’t protest. And when Louis pressed a soft kiss to his hair and hugged him close, Harry just sighed and leant into it, grateful for the warmth.

“That’s not stupid”, Louis murmured against his hair, “Not at all. But remember, they’re only nightmares. They’ll vanish when you wake up. _She_ can’t hurt you anymore”.

Harry nodded, clutching onto him tighter. The silence surrounded them for a minute before he spoke again.

“I have a box in my room”, Harry said, his voice muffled against Louis’ neck as he rested his head on his shoulder, “A box of Gemma’s old knick knacks. You saw it once. There’s this macaroni picture frame with her photo in it and a couple of other things from our childhood. Things that remind me of Gemma, of the person she was. I tried, when I was little…I tried to save her flower crown but it wilted so I make a new one every day to put in the box. I’m weird like that but I think she’d like it”.

Louis held him tighter and nodded into his hair, just breathing in the scent that was uniquely Harry. 

“Louis?” Harry asked quietly after a few minutes in which Louis tried to compose himself.

“I don’t know what to say, Hazza”, he finally said, moving back to see Harry’s eyes. “I didn’t know your past was…that difficult. I wish I could help you”.

“You have”, Harry replied simply, “You stayed”.

“I’ll always stay”, Louis answered, sincerely. He couldn’t imagine leaving Harry, ever! He understood what Zayn meant now about Harry being a strong person. Louis was in awe of the boy sitting on his lap. Whatever Harry Styles was, he was not weak. Never that.

Harry’s green eyes turned a shade lighter, the sparkle that was absent inside them during the story, flickering back to life.

“I know”, he grinned at Louis, dimples coming out despite the tear stains down his cheeks, “I knew when you chose to stay after you heard that story about Nick”.

Louis gaped at him. “W..what? How did you know I…?”

“Oh please”, Harry chuckled, shifting on his lap, “There’s not a person in Stanford that doesn’t know the rumour. It’s like some kind of weird initiation rite by this point”.  
He hesitated for a second before adding, “That’s not how it really happened, you know. I didn’t hurt him…well, not intentionally. I…”

“I know”, Louis cut him off, “Zayn told me”.

Harry looked surprised at that but then he pouted. Louis thought it was thoroughly unfair just how adorable he looked in such a pose, much like a disgruntled kitten!

“No fair”, Harry grumbled, “You charm everyone. Even my brother!”

Louis laughed and then smirked. “ _Now_ who’s jealous, Styles?”

“Not me”, Harry stated but the way he buried his head against Louis’ neck and pressed a kiss there, said otherwise. 

“Well then. Guess you won’t mind if I spend more time with Zayn, maybe take him up on that offer to see his literature collection and…” he grinned, trailing off as Harry’s grip on him tightened considerably.

“Mine”, Harry muttered under his breath, lightly sinking his teeth against the skin of Louis’ neck before pressing another kiss to the same spot. Louis didn’t know why that made him grin so hard. Okay…yes. He knew exactly why. Because he loved Harry. He really loved him, complicated past and all! He wouldn’t change a thing about him, except perhaps try and take away the pain he had endured in his childhood. 

“Lou?” Harry’s voice was a quiet whisper when he spoke and Louis hummed to show he was listening. “Can you make me a flower crown?”

And really. How could Louis not kiss the adorable boy in his lap when he said things like that?

“Whatever you want, love”, he answered before pressing a kiss against Harry’s lips, loving the way Harry’s body reacted to his touch and moulded itself closer. “Whatever you want”.

Sure they had plenty more to talk about, like what to call their relationship (friends, friends with benefits, something more?) but for the moment, Louis was content. This felt like the start of something new. The start of something better. And the one thing Louis was certain about was that he would _always_ stay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please don’t hate me for making Harry’s story so dark! It was very emotionally draining to write and I shed many tears. That being said, I hope it lived up to your expectations (*nervously waits for people to agree or disagree*)  
> A comment on your thoughts would make my day!  
> I promise the next chapter will be much more light-hearted now the hardest part is over with! Love to you all <3 xx


	21. The Next Step

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Louis and Harry figure out what they are. Zayn and Liam, on the other hand, need a lot of help!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have I mentioned I love you guys? Thank you for the comments and kudos!  
> Sorry for the wait but this chapter got away from me and became a bit longer than anticipated. You all deserve this update for the unfailing support I’ve gotten! <3 xx

“Lou?”  
Silence.

“Louis?”  
Ignoring. Definitely ignoring.

“Tomlinson!”  
Nope. Sleep. Sleep is good.

“Louis Winifred Tomlinson! Get your arse out of bed!”

That made Louis crack open an eye and give a disgruntled glare at the mass of curly energy that was currently bouncing at the foot of his bed. 

“My middle name is not Winifred”, he said, haughtily.

“I know”, Harry grinned, “But it got you up, didn’t it?” Evil. The boy was a bundle of pure evil. He had no idea why he kept him around!

“Looouis!” Harry whined and Louis sighed. Goodbye sleep! It was nice knowing you.

“What is it, love?” he asked, holding out his arms as Harry tumbled, rather ungracefully, into them. Harry was cold to touch and Louis pushed aside the wave of worry that automatically went through him. There must be a perfectly rational reason for the freezing cold temperature of his skin, Louis convinced himself. No need to jump to conclusions.

“Hazza?” he asked, hearing Harry’s grunt of acknowledgement, “Why are you so cold this morning?”

“I was out picking flowers”, Harry murmured back, burying closer to Louis’ warm body, “Forgot to take a jacket”. 

Louis found himself grinning, even as he pulled Harry closer, letting him take as much warmth as he needed from him.

“Were you visiting Gemma?” Louis asked quietly, pressing a kiss to the top of Harry’s head. He no longer analysed his every action. He found it was much easier to just do what he felt like and question it later. Because he still wasn’t brave enough to tell Harry about his feelings. 

Harry shook his head in answer and pulled back slightly to smile at Louis, his eyes bright and, annoyingly, clear. Louis knew his own would still be clouded with sleep.

“Gemma told me I only need to come see her on her birthday”, Harry said, giving Louis a warm smile. “She said it’s kind of silly to come every day now that I have you to talk to. She really likes you, you know”.

“She said that, huh?” Louis couldn’t stop the smile from spreading over his face, “I really like her too. I suppose her brother’s not too bad either but she’s definitely my favourite!”

Harry laughed, swatting Louis playfully and they lay there in silence for another few minutes before Harry spoke again.

“Lou?”

“Mm?”

“Can you play the piano”.

“Mhm. A bit”, Louis murmured, keeping his eyes closed as Harry shifted by his side.

“Lou?”

“Yeah?”

“Can you teach me how to play?”

“If you want”.

There was a beat of silence. 

“Can you teach me now?”

“It’s five’o’clock in the morning, Harry!”

Silence resumed for another minute.

“So…is that a yes?”

And Louis had to laugh at that, even as he tried to swat Harry away. 

“Can’t you think of anything else you’d rather do than wake up the neighbours, Hazza?” he asked with a grin.

He didn’t quite understand what was happening until Harry was on top of him, his hands around Louis’ wrists, keeping them locked against the mattress.

“Actually”, Harry’s voice was husky as he spoke, causing Louis to let out a small shudder, “I _can_ think of other things I’d rather be doing. The neighbours might not be much happier though”.

Louis blinked up at him, powerless to do anything more than moan when Harry’s mouth closed over his in a hard kiss, the kind of kiss he hadn’t given Louis in weeks. Not since that day when Louis had been pressed against the wall with Harry’s body trapping him and…

They really needed to define what they were. Ever since Harry had told him his life story, they’d been sharing sweet, gentle kisses but the passion and lust had taken a back seat. Louis hadn’t minded. Harry needed to know, for certain, that Louis meant every word he had said in the park that day. That he was going to be here, that he would always stay. So they'd been using these last few weeks to get to know each other better but now, with Harry kissing him, Louis really couldn't keep the question at bay any longer.

Louis opened his mouth, about to ask Harry to define their relationship when Harry’s crotch rubbed against his already hard one causing his hips to buck up, both of them groaning at the friction. Yeah, questions could wait. Life could wait. Why was he even wasting time thinking when this gorgeous man was on top of him? 

He leant up as much as he could and connected their lips again, drawing a moan from Harry as he gently nipped at his bottom lip.

“Lou?” Harry panted as he pulled away from the kiss, eyes dilated with lust.

“God, Hazza. Just…please?” Louis wasn’t certain what he was asking for but Harry seemed to understand. He nodded before moving his lips back to Louis’, pressing them together. He held both Louis’ wrists with one hand (and really, that shouldn’t turn Louis on as much as it did but size difference was a thing for him, apparently!), moving the other under his shirt to trace the warm skin there.

Everywhere Harry touched was tingling, a fire burning through him. And Louis wanted more. He wanted everything.

“Harry”, he moaned out as Harry’s hand moved higher, brushing over one of his sensitive nipples. He did it again just to hear the sweet sound the writhing boy under him let out.

“Naked”, Harry’s voice sounded wrecked and that went straight to Louis’ cock. “I want to see you naked, Lou”.

Maybe it was the commanding tone in his voice, something so different to how Harry was in public, but Louis found himself rushing to obey. Harry let go of his wrists, sitting back on his haunches to watch as Louis undressed himself. Harry felt himself getting impossibly harder as each patch of Louis’ smooth, tan skin was revealed. He wiped a hand over his mouth to make sure he wasn’t drooling. No one had ever come close to affecting him the way Louis did, making him struggle to hold onto his self-control from just the sight of him naked. 

He bit the inside of his cheek, reminding himself he couldn’t bend the lad over and fuck him deep and hard, claiming his body the way he longed to. They didn’t have any lube. Ah well. There were other ways of bringing pleasure to someone and Harry wanted to do it all on Louis, who had now taken off everything but his boxers.

He wasn’t quite ready for Harry to see that part of him yet, especially not when Harry was still fully clothed.

That just wouldn’t do! He moved forward, pulling Harry’s shirt off him with remarkable speed and Harry let him, chuckling a bit as Louis struggled with his jeans.

“Why the hell”, he panted as Harry started to press soft kisses against his neck, unable to keep from touching him a minute longer, “Would you choose to wear something so fucking tight?”

“Like you can talk, babe”, Harry replied with a low chuckle, reaching down to squeeze his arse and god! Louis could come just from the sound of his voice. He spared a moment of thought for what was happening, what they were doing and how this was definitely encroaching over the line of friendship but then Harry removed his pants and laid his body over Louis’ and everything else faded to the back of his mind. 

All he cared about was the feeling of Harry’s bare skin against his own, the way his hands roamed over his body, stroking his belly, grasping his hips, rubbing against his already hard member over his boxers to make him swell up even further. Harry’s hand slipped into his underwear and wrapped around Louis’ cock, giving it a soft stroke.

Louis moaned out loud, unable to think coherently as Harry began to slowly pump him, forcing his hips to pick up the rhythm.

“You like this, don’t you?” Harry murmured, his voice thick with desire as he watched Louis writhing underneath him, eyes dilated and panting with need. “Being at my mercy like this. The only time you don’t have a sassy remark to make. Want me to make you come? Would you like that, babe? If only we had lube, I’d be in you by now”.

“Harry”, Louis managed to stammer out, the picture Harry was painting in his mind only heightening his arousal, “Stop being a fucking tease!”  
He nearly cried when Harry’s hand left his cock and Harry chuckled at his groan of disappointment. 

“You’re hardly in a position to make demands, Tomlinson”, he whispered seductively against Louis’ ear. If possible, Louis’ cock got even harder at the words. Harry was so dominant, so confident with his control and Louis wanted nothing more than to spread himself out and feel Harry inside him. 

“Not demanding”, Louis panted out as Harry kissed his neck again, suckling a love bite into the soft skin there, marking him. “Begging. Harry I’m…god, just…touch me. Please!”

He knew Harry was just as affected when he heard his low groan. 

Harry rested his head against Louis’ neck, nosing along his jaw as he said, “Fuck, Lou. I need you so bad”.

“Then take me. I’m yours”, Louis replied, his voice throaty and something in either his voice or words made Harry move into action. His hand found its way back to Louis’ cock, pumping it as Louis moaned and thrust into his tight fist. 

“You look so pretty right now, babe. Love seeing you like this. Mine”, Harry murmured and Louis realised his own hands were free, Harry too caught up in watching Louis to have bothered restraining them. So really, Harry should have expected him to tangle one hand in his hair and pull him down for a kiss while the other dug into his back, scratching the smooth, warm skin.

Harry was rutting against Louis’ thigh now, unable to stop himself as Louis moaned and arched up below him.

“Close…Harry…s…so close”, Louis moaned out between kisses and Harry’s hand slowed down, purposely teasing him.

“Harry!” he cried out in frustration but the boy just gave a low chuckle and pressed kisses down his body, stopping when he got to his groin. Louis’ hand clenched into the bed sheets when Harry blew a gentle breath over his cock, causing sparks of pleasure to race down his spine. 

“You have no idea how much I’ve wanted to do this”, Harry murmured and that was all the warning he got before his cock was plunged into the warm, wet crevice that was Harry Styles’ mouth. Louis was in heaven, or possibly some place greater than heaven. Harry knew just what to do to drive him mad, suckling at his head before licking a strip along his length. When he took him further down his throat, Louis couldn’t stop himself from bucking up, thrusting his cock into Harry’s mouth, letting the wet suction pleasure him. Harry’s moan let him know he was enjoying it too. The boy looked positively obscene, his pink lips stretched deliciously around Louis’ member, sucking him as if his life force depended on every moan and curse that came out of Louis’ mouth.

“Fuck, Harry! I’m…” Harry pulled off, moving back up to press his lips against Louis’ in a hard, possessive kiss. His hand began rubbing Louis’ cock again, thumb brushing over the sensitive head as he pumped the hard, throbbing length, drawing long moans from Louis in response. 

Louis managed to move one hand over Harry’s own cock, which had been rutting against his arse cheeks and stroked it hard and fast, causing Harry to moan into his mouth.

“Harry, I’m gonna…” Louis trailed off as the hand on his member sped up in response.

“I want you to. Come for me, Louis”, Harry commanded hoarsely and that was all Louis could take. He spurted out into Harry’s fist, his orgasm hitting him so hard that he lost his breath. Harry came seconds later, rutting against Louis’ arse and coating it in a layer of white, biting into his shoulder to muffle his moans as he rode out the waves of pleasure.

 

“God, Lou”, Harry murmured once they’d both somewhat recovered. He rolled off but then placed an arm around Louis’ waist, pulling him against his chest. “Please tell me you don’t regret that”.

And maybe it was the post-bliss of his orgasm or the fact that he was so happy and warm lying there in Harry’s arms but Louis found himself murmuring, “I love you”.

He froze the moment he realised what he had said but Harry’s fingers were at his chin now, tilting it up until their eyes met. 

“Thank fuck for that! I think I’ve loved you since the moment you called me Harold”, Harry replied and Louis’ heart might have burst out of his ribcage. He stared at Harry for a full minute, just studying the beautiful creature before him who was wearing a dimpled smile and whose eyes were still half-glazed from his orgasm. 

“You hated me when you first saw me”, Louis pointed out because the emotions were getting too much for him to handle. Harry chuckled and pulled him closer, nuzzling against his collarbone.

“No, I didn’t”, he said softly, pressing a kiss to the exposed skin, “That’s why you scared me. Because I usually hate people on sight, I close myself off from them but you…something about you drew me closer. Made me want to open up. You were so annoying, always getting under my skin without even meaning to! Never backing down from a fight. It was…easier to pretend I hated you than confess I loved you. But I couldn’t seem to stay away from you, Lou. I tried so hard but something about you kept bringing me back. The people I love always end up getting hurt. If I ever hurt you, I’d…”

Louis threaded a hand through Harry’s hair, waiting until their eyes met.

“There are gonna be times when you will hurt me and I'll hurt you but we'll learn from it. We'll get better”, he stated, “I meant that promise I made, Haz. I love you and I’m never going to leave you. I’m here to stay”.

Harry gave one of his more rare, breathtaking smiles and, when he pulled Louis in again for a kiss, Louis went willingly. 

When they pulled back, Harry noticed the trace of hesitation on Louis’ face.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, immediately worried and that in itself, simply the fact that he was worried for Louis, made him endearing. 

“Just…does this mean you’re my…um…”

“Boyfriend?” Harry smirked, “I hope so! Unless you’ve got a secret lover on the side you’re not telling me about”.

Louis chuckled but he also nibbled his bottom lip with his teeth, which was a sign he was nervous.

“Lou?”  
Louis sighed when Harry took his face between his hands, his thumbs stroking over Louis’ cheekbones and forcing him to gaze into his green eyes. 

“You know you can tell me anything. Let me help”, Harry murmured and for some reason, Louis found his eyes getting wet. Harry wiped away the tears before they fell, a frown marring his features. “Louis? Babe? Tell me please?”

Louis let out a rather watery chuckle, his mind flooding with memories he’d really rather not have. In fact, he’d done a fucking remarkable job at not remembering anything about Aidan for the last two years but now, lying here with the term ‘boyfriend’ floating around, his past came to the fore front of his mind.

“I…” Louis sighed. He’d always been horrible at explaining but he had to try. It was only fair if they were going to be in a relationship and it wasn’t anywhere near as difficult as what Harry had confessed to him that day in the park.

“Aidan”, he finally said the name, rolling over to face Harry, who was giving him his full attention. “He was my…the first person I ever properly dated”.

He cuddled closer to Harry when the boy’s arms came around him, tightening almost possessively. It was nice. It made him feel safe.

“I was fourteen when we met”, Louis continued, “He was the new kid in town, a couple of years older than me and he was…everyone seemed to love him. The teachers, the other students, my family. He charmed Liam the second they met. I was a bit more suspicious. Figured no one could _actually_ be that nice without having some skeletons in their closet but it didn’t take him long to gain my trust too. And then he asked me out”.

Harry pressed a soft kiss to his collarbones and Louis smiled, scratching Harry’s scalp lightly until the boy purred against him. God, what he’d felt with Aidan was nothing compared to this. He wasn’t sure he’d be able to survive it if the curly-haired boy broke his heart the way Aidan had!

Louis took a deep breath before continuing his story.  
“Um, so we started going out and a few months after we’d…after we got together, he wanted to…um..take it further than just kissing”.

“He forced you to?” Harry’s voice was deceivingly steady but Louis could hear the rage simmering beneath it.

“No, he…I guess he kind of manipulated me into giving him what he wanted? But he didn’t really force me. He just started dropping hints about how he could get better boyfriends and that maybe being with someone so young had been a mistake. So I agreed to…whatever he wanted because he was a senior and he’d chosen _me_ of all people! It was okay for a while. I mean, there were times when I thought he wasn’t the best person to be in a relationship with but by then everyone was already in love with him. My best friends, my Mum, my sisters. He could charm anyone and I started to think that maybe he wasn’t the problem. Maybe it was me. So I tried my best to do things to please him. It was just over a year after we started dating that he told me he wanted to do more than just blow jobs. He had more experience and he told me this was the next step in a relationship. It’s not as if I had anything to compare it with. But anyway, I let him…uh..have sex with me. Except, he wanted me to top and I…I had no idea what to do. It was awful! He broke up with me the day after that and it fucking hurt that he'd just…I cried. A lot. For days actually. Then three days later, I walked into the school toilets and saw him sucking off another guy. Turns out, he’d been cheating on me right from the start of our so called ‘relationship’ and the sex thing was just an excuse but I wasn’t sure who I was more angry at. Him for cheating and leading me on or at myself for being so foolish and thinking he actually loved me”.

Harry’s lips were set in a thin line when Louis glanced up, fury at Louis’ ex who he hadn’t even met, clear on his face.

Louis carried on before Harry could say anything, needing to get everything off his chest. 

“I’ve never actually told anyone about…the sex stuff. Just that he cheated on me. I’ve been with other guys since then but I haven’t ever agreed to top. And to be perfectly honest, my longest relationship after Aidan only lasted for about two weeks. Guess I still suffer from trust issues”, Louis chuckled, self-deprecatingly.

“Lou”, Harry’s voice was soft and Louis felt him let out a frustrated sigh against his ear, “Fuck him!”

The last part was said with more than a little venom and Louis jerked back, raising an eyebrow at an irate looking Harry.

“Seriously, Lou. He isn’t even worth thinking about! What a fucking tosser! Taking advantage of someone, breaking their trust and…fuck! If I ever came face to face with him…”

“I would have to call an ambulance to take care of him, I know”, Louis smiled a little, reaching out to run a hand over Harry’s chest. The curly-haired boy was breathing heavily, his entire body coiled in anger but he relaxed slightly at Louis’ touch. His large arms came around Louis and he curled his body around the smaller boy, breathing in the scent of Louis’ hair to help calm him down.

“Hazza, it’s all in the past”, Louis murmured, softly, “I’m not…I hardly ever think about that anymore. I just wanted you to know that relationships are…they’re a big deal for me. I love you. I need you to know that but I’m also scared of losing myself again and putting all my trust in one person. I’m…just not sure if I'm going to be a good boyfriend...”

Louis didn’t protest when he felt Harry shift them to a sitting position, pulling Louis until he was cradled in his lap.

“You already are”, Harry’s voice was a soft caress and Louis leaned against his shoulder, resting his head in the crook of his neck, “I would never want to change anything about you, Lou. You might not be perfect but you're perfect for me".

Louis couldn't stop himself from chuckling, hitting Harry lightly on the chest. "That has got to be the cheesiest line I've ever heard!"

Harry just smirked. 

"And besides", Harry continued, "I’m the one with the most baggage in this relationship. I’m not even sure why you’ve stuck around after finding out about my messed up life”.

“Because none of that was your fault”, Louis replied immediately, “And because I love you”. Now that he’d started saying those three words, stopping seemed to be a difficult task.

“I love _you_ ”, he felt Harry smile against his skin, “And it goes both ways. Nothing that happened with your ex was your fault either. I’m not asking you to trust me straightaway but I promise you, I would never abuse it if you gave it to me. No matter what happens with us, I'll always be your best friend first and foremost”.

The words are so genuine and full of emotion. Louis couldn't help but think of how different Harry is from the person he met all those months ago. Harry, he realised with a start, hadn’t trusted anyone back then either. He’d closed off his emotions, not letting anyone see even an inkling of his thoughts until Louis had somehow broken through his defences. In a way, they were the same and yet, in another way, they were each stronger than the other.

The one thing he knew without a doubt was that if there was anyone he could trust with his heart, it was Harry. He didn’t know how he knew that. It was just…a feeling.

 

“You know what though?” Louis murmured, threading his fingers through Harry’s hair when the boy hummed. “I do trust you. That’s what scares me, I think. I’m not normally so trusting but I believe you when you say you won’t abuse it”.

Harry’s smile was beautiful. It made a matching one appear on Louis’ face. They were quiet for a minute, just lost in each other’s eyes before Harry spoke again.

“Lou, would you…if you don’t want to talk about it then we won’t but I was just wondering…would you ever consider topping again?”

Louis’ eyes widened but he managed to keep himself from looking too alarmed. Harry had a right to ask the question, after all. He just hadn't expected it to come up quite so soon.

He chose his words carefully when he answered.

“I’ve never thought about it after the first time. I..I’m not sure if I could”. 

Harry nodded. “That's fine but if you ever wanted to…just letting you know I’ll be here”, he replied.

Louis nearly cried but held himself back. The fact that Harry knew about how bad Louis had been at his first and only topping experience and was still willing to let him try again if he wanted was…a little overwhelming, actually.

“Maybe one day”, Louis managed to say, his voice only choking up a little. Harry gave him another dimpled smile before pressing their lips together again, letting the kiss do the talking. It was full of emotion and passion, filled with all the things they had yet to say but wanted the other to know. It was perfect. Great. Better than anything he had ever imagined.

Everything was just fantastic until Louis’ phone rang, shattering the peace. He reluctantly pulled away from the kiss, barely managing to stay firm in his decision when Harry pouted but then he saw the caller ID. 

Liam.

That’s when he remembered that they both had friends and their friends had no idea about the recent developments.

“Shit! How do we tell them we’re dating?” Louis asked, turning to face Harry with a look that verged on panicked. Harry just laughed, nuzzling against Louis’ cheek.

“Don’t freak out, babe”, he murmured, “Things have a way of working out”. And it wasn’t fair that the soft kisses Harry pressed to his cheek made it nigh impossible for Louis to freak out when he wanted to!

“You know what? I think we need to get Liam flowers”, Louis decided, getting up and out of bed, pulling a whining Harry with him. “You disturbed my sleep, Harold. Now you get to make up for it!”

Harry sighed, muttered something about how that wasn’t what Louis had been saying ten minutes ago but he shut up when Louis pressed a kiss to his cheek. Then, he smiled dopily and followed Louis around, making it extremely difficult for the boy to get dressed again.

“Styles!” Louis exclaimed, both endeared and exasperated by Harry’s constant touches. “Do you want Liam to accept this relationship or not?”

Harry finally relented, letting Louis move away to clean himself up before he could do something like pull him into another kiss or, worse, back into bed. Harry’s cock gave a small twitch of interest at the idea and he frowned down at it, mentally telling it to shut up. What would Louis think of him if he couldn’t keep it in his pants for an important conversation?

“You’re right. Maybe Liam will be more accommodating if we get him flowers”, he agreed.

“Liam will be more accommodating if he gets laid”, Louis muttered back and grinned when he heard Harry’s startled laugh. Yeah, he really loved this guy!  
“Let’s get going then”.

“Lou?” Louis turned around, ready to berate Harry for laziness but he found himself being encircled by two muscular arms with a warm chest plastered across his back. He looked up into the familiar jade green eyes as Harry said, “I love you a lot. Just wanted you to know”.

Louis couldn’t keep the soft smile and, most likely, lovesick look off his face as he murmured back, “I love you too, Harry”.

And if, as they hurried to the nearest florist to get Liam a bouquet of roses, a random stranger happened to check Louis out and Harry happened to glare at the poor man before pulling Louis into a heated kiss and growling, “Mine” into his ear...well. No one but the two of them had to know. And if they decided to stop by the convenience store on the way back to get some lube (because Louis steadfastly refused to, “Call Smith and ask him to pick it up”, as Harry had suggested), nobody had to know about that either.

The shower sex before breakfast was yet another thing they kept between themselves.

______________________________________________________________

 

As they entered the Dining Hall, instead of parting ways as usual, Harry grabbed Louis' arm, tugging him closer.

"Sit with me?" he asked, his voice sounding unsure. And Louis couldn't believe Harry still hadn't realised that he could refuse him nothing! 

"I have a better idea, Hazza”, he answered with a smile, "You should sit with me".

Harry grinned, dimples coming out and he shook his head so enthusiastically that Louis had to laugh. He saw Liam raise an eyebrow when he noticed them heading towards his table. 

Liam had barely gotten used to Harry and Louis being friends and now he was about to be hit with the news that they were officially together. Louis was staying optimistic. Liam was a good bloke, really. He would come around in time and, besides, they had flowers as peace offerings for keeping him in the dark all this while. Flowers, according to Harry, solved everything.

 

Niall, on the other hand, was waving them over, looking like an enthusiastic child as he spotted their interlinked fingers.

"He just wants me to sneak him an extra portion of breakfast from the kitchens, doesn't he?" Harry whispered into Louis' ear and he chuckled. 

“Well, it _is_ bacon. But no. I think Niall's truly a sappy romantic under his tough exterior", Louis grinned back.  
Harry gave him a look of disbelief.

"No one who hates The Notebook deserves that title", he muttered and God, Louis loved this boy! So, so much.

"Hang on", Louis suddenly said as they neared their table. Liam was still glaring at Harry, who was trying not to let it get to him. "We need to get Liam's attention off you".

"Right", Harry mumbled, trying to hide the flowers behind his back "Um, how exactly do we do that?"

"Just follow my lead, Styles", Louis winked at him, turning to the right. Harry hurried to follow.

"Zayn?" Harry questioned, spotting the table Zayn was currently sitting at, surrounded by his ever-growing fan club.

"Zayn", Louis confirmed and he knew the moment Harry had caught on for he gave a loud gasp of delight. 

"Are him and Liam…?"

"I've counted three 'not dates' as Liam calls them, so far".

"Three dates in two months?" Harry scoffed, "That's fucking pathetic".

"Tell me about it", Louis agreed.

"We should help them along then. You know, in the interests of true love", Harry continued and Louis stopped, turning to grin at him.

"Why Harold! We're soulmates. I was thinking the exact same thing! We'd be doing all of mankind a favour, what with the lovesick looks they keep throwing at each other".

"Exactly", Harry nodded, fervently, "It's a public service, really. Inspired by brotherly love. Not motivated by selfish designs at all".

"Nope", Louis grinned, "If this gets Liam's attention off you, that's just a bonus. We're doing this for the greater good of humanity…and Niall. I don't think he can take any more of Liam's ‘Is he flirting with me or not’ talks".

They walked up to Zayn's table, grinning like lunatics.

The dark-haired boy looked up at them, surprised, while his fan club threw them dirty looks for having captured his attention.

"You're sitting with us for breakfast today", Louis stated, ignoring the gasps that echoed around them. How dare he issue a command to Zayn Malik? Yeah, yeah. He'd heard it all before.

Zayn, bless him, only looked more confused.

"I am?" he asked.

"You are", Harry confirmed and the gasps got louder. Yes, student population of Stanford. Harry Styles had the ability to speak! Wonders never ceased.  
Louis noticed a couple of people checking Harry out, now that they realised he wasn’t a robot or some such thing and he subconsciously(okay, fine! It was a deliberate move) reached out to take Harry’s hand, which the other boy gladly captured.

"Well then", Zayn shrugged apologetically to his admirers and got up. "What's the occasion?" he asked as he followed them back towards where Liam and Niall were sitting, most of the students in the cafeteria watching the trio with unconcealed shock and curiosity.

Louis wondered if this was what animals at the zoo felt like.

Harry just chucked and squeezed Louis' hand as he smiled back at him, causing the murmurs in the dining hall to pick up as more people noticed their close proximity. Zayn understood immediately for he simply threw an arm around each of their shoulders and said, “Fucking finally! All the sexual tension was killing me!"

Harry gaped at Louis as if to ask, "Is this guy serious?" before casting a meaningful look over at Liam. Louis just shook his head and grinned as he saw Liam drop his fork, Zayn moving to pick it up for him. Their hands brushed together and Liam blushed while Zayn cleared his throat, coming very close to blushing himself.

Zayn Malik losing his cool? Louis never thought he’d live to see such a day!

"They'll get there, Hazza", he said, quietly, "We just need to give them some time".

Harry moved closer to him, wrapping a hand around his waist and whispering in his ear. They both ignored the voices in the Dining Hall that now sounded like a colony of bees had taken up residence in the area. 

“We _could_ give them time or we could...help them along, so to speak".

Louis took one look at the glint of mischief in Harry's eyes and said, "I'm in".

 

“Zayn got these for you”, Harry began, passing over the roses to Liam, who took his gaze off Harry and Louis’ interlinked fingers long enough to blush and gape at Zayn, who looked equally startled.

When Louis gave him a not-so-gentle kick in the shins, covering the lad’s yelp of pain with a loud cough, he quickly picked up on the scheme.

“Oh..uh, yeah", Zayn stammered, "I…thought they’d match your eyes. Um. Because they're pretty...like eyes. Your eyes I mean”. 

“Smooth, Malik”, Harry muttered under his breath, rolling his eyes at Louis, “Real smooth”.

“Clearly you’re the charming sibling. I picked well”, Louis murmured in his ear, causing Harry’s cheeks to dimple as he giggled in response.

But Liam was beaming and, as Zayn sat down beside him, launching into a conversation about comic books, Louis looked over at Harry and decided that yes. Things would definitely work out. For all of them.

It was a sign of his good mood that he let Niall steal an extra piece of bacon from his plate. Louis was just an all-round lovely person really. Harry, who was staring at him with unconcealed adoration, would undoubtedly agree.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Was that too sappy? Hopefully it made up for all the sadness in the last chapter :)  
> Comments make my day so please leave one if you have the time! Love to you all <3 xx


	22. An Invitation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry and Louis' relationship progress and Christmas is around the corner!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the amazing comments and kudos! I love you all very, very much! Hope you enjoy this! <3 xx

“Who’s Stan?” 

Louis glanced up from his English homework to see his curly-haired boyfriend glowering at him with accusation in his eyes. Even after three weeks of ‘officially dating’, Louis still felt his heart skip a beat every time he thought of the term _boyfriend_. Harry was leaning against the doorway of his room. It honestly wasn’t fair how fucking good he looked in his school uniform, cutting a lean figure with those sinfully pink lips pursed in annoyance and those vibrant green eyes dark with…  
It took Louis a moment to realise Harry was barely suppressing his rage. It took another moment for him to notice the phone that was clutched in Harry’s hand. _His_ phone!

“Where did you get that from? I’ve been looking for it…” Louis stood up from where he had been sitting on the bed and made his way towards the lad. He didn’t manage to take more than one step before Harry had him restrained against the nearest wall.

“What the fuck, Harold?!” 

“Who is _Stan_?” Harry’s hand was digging into his shoulder, on the verge of becoming painful. 

The smart thing to do would have been to answer the question but Louis had never claimed to be smart. So, he did what he’d been craving to do since the moment he saw Harry standing in his bedroom doorway. He leant forward and caught the boy’s lips in a bruising kiss. 

It only took Harry half a second to get over the surprise and respond. Louis heard a sound in the background that may have been his phone dropping to the floor but he really didn’t care as it was accompanied by Harry’s hand squeezing his waist, the other coming up to cradle his jaw as Harry took control of the kiss.

Louis let him, moaning into his mouth as his hot tongue traced his lips as if he were trying to memorise every fine detail. His mouth opened on a gasp when Harry nibbled at his bottom lip, sucking it into his mouth. The kiss was both tender and desperate, Harry channeling his emotions of anger and confusion into it. Louis was completely dazed when the brunette finally pulled away, pressing two more soft kisses against his lips as if he couldn’t help himself. 

Harry’s eyes studied him and Louis, almost unconsciously, licked his own lips. He got a rush of satisfaction from the way Harry’s breath hitched but, in retaliation, Harry’s hands moved to cup Louis’ arse, causing him to let out a soft whine.

“So”, Louis barely registered Harry’s words as the lad began pressing firm kisses against his neck, his voice a slow drawl, “Who exactly is Stan?” 

The question was punctuated by a soft slap to his arse that, embarrassingly, made Louis give a small moan. Harry’s eyebrows shot up in surprise at his boyfriend’s reaction and the beginnings of a smirk made their way onto his face so Louis pushed him away before he could explore _that_ any further. Harry stored the information away in his mind for another time.

“Stan”, Louis’ voice was only slightly breathless, a feat he was immensely proud of, “Is one of my best mates from back home. How did you even know his name?”

Harry frowned, his eyes narrowing but he ignored the question to say, “If he’s your best _mate_ , why does his name on your phone have a bunch of hearts next to it?”

Louis blushed, thinking back to how Stan had jokingly entered the heart emoticons saying, “Because I’ve got a special place in your heart, Tommo!”

Harry’s growl of annoyance made Louis glance up to see the boy had picked up his phone and was glaring at it as if he could set it on fire with his mind if he wished hard enough.

“He’s just a friend, Hazza”, Louis chuckled, holding out his hand for his phone which Harry grudgingly gave back. It was ridiculous how he seemed to think every single guy in the world had a crush on Louis but damn, it was a great ego boost! 

Not that Harry was the only jealous one in this relationship but Louis thought he had a pretty good reason, considering the fact Harry had recently confessed that students occasionally slipped love notes into his locker. It had only gotten worse now that they knew he spoke and wasn’t an alien from Mars! Louis had made it a point to kiss Harry as much as possible when in public to make it clear that he was taken. Well, that and because it was just really nice kissing Harry. It might be one of his favourite things to do, actually.

His boyfriend’s hands were back on Louis’ waist, clutching just a tad possessively while staring at him with sad puppy dog eyes that only Harry Styles could pull off. Louis rolled his eyes but decided to put him out of his misery, “Stan is also completely, one hundred percent straight. Even has a girlfriend! Her name’s Emily”.

That seemed to pacify Harry a bit because his gaze softened and the corners of his mouth turned up.

“Yeah? Good”, he murmured before bending down and pressing a hard kiss against Louis’ lips. The kiss was over far too soon for Louis’ liking but Harry was speaking again so he tried to pay attention and not let his horniness get in the way.

“Stan sent you a text”, Harry said, running a hand through his tousled locks, “I didn’t mean to look or anything. It just…kind of flashed on the screen and I glanced over so…” he trailed off when he saw Louis was grinning. “What?”

Harry’s pout was possibly the cutest thing on earth. Okay, sure. Maybe Louis was biased but so what? 

“You and I both know you’ve figured out my phone’s passcode”, Louis replied, chuckling when Harry kept his gaze firmly on the ground, “So go on. Tell me what his text said”.

Harry sighed, knowing he’d been caught out. 

“He wanted to know if you were going home for Christmas”.

Louis blinked. He’d completely forgotten that Christmas was in two weeks!

He quickly typed out a reply to Stan agreeing to meet him during the two week break before reaching for Harry’s hand and leading him into the lounge.

“What are you doing for Christmas, love?” he asked, casually (he hoped!).  
Harry shrugged, sitting down on the couch and pulling Louis into his lap before he could consider sitting anywhere else. 

“The same as every other year. Attending my parents’ masquerade ball and pretending to be interested in their guests’ boring lives. Although, one of them has these adorable cats and shows me pictures of them so that’s always fun!”

“Masquerade ball?” Louis tried not to gape at him. He failed. “As in one of those fancy dances? I thought they became extinct a few centuries ago!”

Harry chuckled, stroking a warm hand down his arm. It may or may not have caused goosebumps to erupt on Louis’ skin. 

“It’s a family tradition”, Harry explained, “Every Christmas Eve our parents have a huge ball and invite all the VIPs in the fashion and business world. It’s boring as hell. Even Zayn thinks so and he’s normally all for social gatherings and accumulating contacts and all that shit”.

“Why don’t you both just not go then?” Louis questioned, shuffling on Harry’s lap until he was straddling him properly.

“It’s mandatory”, Harry sighed, “We’ve been forced to attend ever since we became teenagers. Before that we were allowed to spend the evening playing our Xbox. It’s not all bad though. Last year, they left Zayn and I to entertain a group of models who were really nice. Pretty sure Zayn slept with one of them too”.

Louis frowned. “I thought Zayn was gay?”

Harry shrugged. “He doesn’t really label himself. He likes the person not their gender, you know?”

Louis nodded. There was silence for a second before Louis oh so casually asked, “Were the models pretty?”  
He wasn’t jealous. No. That would be ridiculous since he hadn’t even _known_ Harry last year! Definitely not jealous.

Harry’s smirk still made Louis blush though and he hid his face against the other boy’s shoulder, prepared to endure the teasing. Surprisingly though, Harry’s arms just held him closer, wrapping around him almost protectively.

“They don’t hold a candle to you, babe”, Harry whispered against his ear, pressing a kiss to the soft skin below his ear lobe and it was honestly pathetic how Louis could feel himself hardening from just the words alone. He shifted before Harry realised this and figured out Louis didn’t have half as much self control as he pretended to have. 

He moved back and placed his hands on Harry’s shoulders, clearing his throat before speaking.

“Well, I can’t offer you anything half as fancy as a masquerade ball but my Mum does make a wicked Christmas roast. And we spend the evening in front of the fire drinking my special hot chocolate recipe, which by the way, is the only thing I can cook without burning the house down. But I have to make sure the twins don’t drink too much because then they get too high on sugar to go to bed and…” Louis was rambling. He knew that but the nervous energy inside him wouldn’t allow him to stop. He wasn’t even sure what he was talking about anymore to be honest. Something about presents? Or reindeers? Whatever. 

Harry was staring at him in complete delight though so he kept talking until Harry shut him up by pressing their lips together. Louis let out a shaky breath, wrapping his arms around Harry’s neck when the boy pulled away from the kiss.

Harry kept their foreheads touching as he whispered, his breath ghosting over Louis’ face, “Lou? Did you just ask me to spend Christmas with you?”

Louis bit his lip, glancing up at his boyfriend whose eyes were sparkling. That was a good sign, right?

“Um, yeah. I…well, I thought maybe you’d like to meet my family? I just…I’ve been thinking and I know lots of things about you but I haven’t really told you much about my life. Not that there’s much to say, really and I’m not that great with words as you could probably tell by that atrocious English essay I wrote last week but”, he took a breath before soldiering on to the end of his embarrassingly honest speech, “But I…I could show you? The place I grew up and stuff if…like, if you’re interested or we could just pretend I never asked and act as if this isn’t awkward so…”

Really. Harry was developing quite a habit with this whole ‘cut him off with a kiss’ thing! But Louis couldn’t say he minded it much, especially not when he saw Harry’s dimpled smile. It was crazy how fast Harry switched from serial killer mode to harmless puppy. Louis didn’t think he’d ever get bored of his boyfriend’s many moods.

“I never thought you’d ask”, Harry breathed, pressing another soft kiss against Louis’ lips.

“So. Is that a yes then?” Louis licked his lips nervously, wanting to be absolutely certain.

Harry giggled and nodded so fast his curls bounced endearingly. “Yes! Yeah, I..I would love to meet your family! If they wouldn’t mind having me”.

Louis let out a silent sigh of relief before he composed himself and put on a less fond expression. It was hard to not melt into a puddle when Harry was being so Harry-like! 

“It won’t be a problem! Mum loves having guests and the girls…well, they’re a handful but I love them. Most of the time, that is. If they get to be too much though, just let me know and we’ll…”

“Lou”, Harry grinned, brushing his nose along Louis’ cheek, “I know I’m going to love them if they’re anything like you”.

Louis couldn’t stop the blush that heated his cheek.

“And you’ll get to meet Stan”, Louis smirked, loving the way Harry’s hands unconsciously tightened around him. So maybe he got off on Harry being possessive but if anyone asked, he’d deny it to his grave!

“Can’t wait”, Harry practically growled before pulling him into another, much harder kiss.

Louis grinned to himself and made a mental note to tell his Mum to set an extra place at the dinner table for Christmas. He also pretended not to notice when Harry stole his phone again and changed Stan’s emoticon from hearts to a carrot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was going for short and sweet with this chapter. Am I way off the mark?  
> I live for your comments and kudos so please leave one if you liked it. Until the next update, love to you all <3 xx


	23. A Big Deal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Louis realises it may, in fact, be a big deal after all!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for having kept you all waiting but life got in the way. Thank you, as always, for the incredible comments and kudos! You have no idea how much I rely on them to keep me motivated!  
> Hope you enjoy this chapter :) xx

They were all gathered in Niall’s room- Zayn, Harry, Louis, Liam and Niall. It had been Niall’s idea that the five of them start spending more time together since they all got on so well and apparently, watching movies together every week counted as ‘bonding’ or some such shit. Louis had agreed mainly because his and Harry’s plan to get Liam and Zayn together clearly needed more time than they had during breakfast, lunch and dinner. 

It was strange, in a way, how easily they had all fallen together once Louis and Harry started dating. Almost as if they were all meant to be friends!

The table at the back corner of the Dining Hall was now unofficially claimed as theirs and Louis had nearly laughed out loud when he’d overheard a group of fourteen year olds berate their friend because, “you can’t sit there, you idiot! That’s reserved for the Five! They’d skin you alive!”

The Five. He decided he quite liked that name, almost as if they were superheroes or something! Harry had been even more excited than him when he heard about it and, despite Liam saying they should “be responsible and set the record straight so people aren’t scared of us”, he too had been quietly thrilled at the newfound respect their group received.

Being associated with the Maliks apparently gave you a free pass to the top of the school hierarchy. Not that Louis cared about that but it was still nice to know.

And now, here they were, sitting in Niall’s room as he chose a movie for them to watch. Harry and Niall had claimed the couch and Zayn had brought his own chair in, leaving Liam and Louis with cushions that they could arrange on the floor. Liam was methodical and careful as he placed the cushions in the most comfortable position. Louis just plopped them down wherever but that’s because he knew that it was only a matter of time before he’d start complaining about the ground hurting his sensitive arse and Harry would simply reach down and pull him up to cuddle on his lap. Having a boyfriend definitely had its perks!

“Have you got your costume picked out yet?” Zayn asked Harry as Louis and Niall argued over which movie to watch. Nothing could beat ‘Love Actually’ in Louis’ opinion but Niall was insisting on ‘She’s the Man’.

“Costume for what?” Liam asked at the same moment Harry stated, “I’m not going”.

“We have an annual masquerade ball at our house every Christmas”, Zayn explained for Liam’s benefit before turning back to face Harry, “And what the fuck do you mean you’re not going? Didn’t Mum give you the whole ‘It’s mandatory’ and ‘I will not hesitate to take away your credit card’ lecture?”

“Well, she did but then I told her I’m going to meet my boyfriend’s family so she gave me an extra allowance instead”, Harry grinned in what would have been an angelic manner if one didn’t notice the wicked gleam in his eyes. Louis bit his lip to stop himself from laughing at Zayn’s look of utter betrayal.

“Fucking hell!” Zayn groaned, hiding his face in his hands, “Just fucking perfect for you, ain’t it? Now I’m gonna be stuck there by myself. How do I even converse with Mrs.Plath?”

Liam gasped. “Mrs.Plath as in… _The_ Regina Plath? The Head of Plath Accessories?”

Zayn nodded and Niall muttered, “It’s a fashion thing”, to Louis, who was completely lost. 

“Just compliment her dress and ask after her cats”, Harry advised, ignoring Zayn’s pained look, “She’s actually really nice. Maybe she’ll show you photos of them! I think she told me last year Mildew was expecting kittens”.

“She named her cat Mildew?” Louis asked and Harry took a deep breath to explain how the fact that the poor cat was named after a fungus did not take away the creativity behind the name. His ‘Reasoning Behind Cat Names’ lecture was thankfully cut short by Zayn angrily punching numbers into his phone while cursing under his breath.

“What are you doing?” Louis enquired because Zayn looked pissed to say the least.

“I’m calling Mum and _begging_ her to let me off attending this year”, he muttered back before getting up from the couch and walking towards the bathroom, phone held to his ear.

Louis opened his mouth to say something but his hand was snagged by Liam, who pulled him towards his room throwing a, “I’m just borrowing Tommo for a minute”, over his shoulder. 

 

Louis’ confusion wasn’t cleared up much when Liam closed and locked the door before turning to face him.

“What the fuck were you thinking Louis?!” Liam’s tone was angry but he was whisper shouting, not wanting anyone in the lounge to hear.

“Huh?” Louis asked, giving his friend a bewildered look. 

“And when were you planning on telling me? Have you told Jay yet? Does she know?”

“Huh?” Louis said again, blinking.

“Inviting Harry to your house! You’ve only been dating for _three weeks_! A couple of months ago, we were all under the impression he was capable of murder and now you’re inviting him to hang around your little sisters!”

Louis bit his lip. He could see Liam’s point of view because, as far as Liam knew, they’d only been dating for three weeks. All the rest, those months of secret touches and soft kisses, were a secret between Harry and Louis. 

Louis racked his brain on what to say before finally settling for, “I just thought it’d be nice, you know? Mum’s always asking to meet my new friends…”

“Friends! Not boyfriend”, Liam hissed.

“…and we're only staying for a week”, he continued on, acting as if Liam hadn’t spoken. “It isn’t that big of a deal or anything”.

“Not a…are you fucking with me right now, Tommo?” Liam demanded, “Not a big deal?! He’s meeting your _family_ ! After just weeks of you two being together! When you were with Aidan, it took you nine months to introduce him to your Mum. Do you not see the problem here?”

“Uh…” Louis raised an eyebrow.

“You’re falling for him too hard!” Liam snapped.

“Oh yeah, I definitely have a _hard_ time around him”, Louis smirked, proud of the innuendo but not even that phased Liam, who was in full protective friend mode. He had his reasons. After finding out that Aidan, the guy Liam had considered a good friend, had cheated on Louis during their sham of a relationship, Liam had become extremely overprotective when it came to his best friend. He was just looking out for him, really.

“I think you’re taking this thing you two have way too fast”, Liam said now, wringing his hands together, “Do you really want him to meet your family so soon? You remember how attached your sisters get to people you’re with, right? When Aidan…”

“Can we not bring him up every five seconds?” Louis snapped back, closing his eyes and rubbing his fingers over his temple to stave off the headache. 

“Sorry”, Liam sounded abashed, “Shit, I’m going about this all wrong! I didn’t mean…I’m not saying Harry’s anything like him”.

“He’s not”, Louis was surprised at how confident his own voice sounded but the more he thought about it, the more certain he became. “He’s _nothing_ like him. Harry’s got every reason to be bitter towards the world but he chooses to be compassionate instead. He’s kind and caring and he loves me, Liam. I can’t explain it but he’s…he’s...”.

Louis trailed off, struggling to put his thoughts into words. Harry was his first proper relationship in such a long time and sure, he was scared of falling too hard and too fast but at the same time, it felt _right_.

Liam must have been able to read some of his thoughts on his face because his gaze suddenly softened. 

“Fuck, Lou. You really love him, don’t you?” he murmured, pulling Louis into a hug. Louis nodded against his shoulder, tightening his arms around him. Hugging Liam was always comforting in the way hugging a sibling was. When they pulled back, Liam was the one with tears in his eyes as if all of Louis’ emotions had been transferred across to him. 

“I’m glad you found him then. And I’m really happy for you”.

Louis grinned and chuckled wetly, ruffling Liam’s hair until the boy pushed him away, laughing.

“Oh, and Tommo?” Louis paused from where he had been heading towards the door.

Liam was blushing as he muttered, “Just don’t..like, never mention the tears”, he gestured towards his face, “Ever. It didn’t happen”.

Louis laughed out loud at that, giving Liam a wink.

“Whatever you say, you old sap”, he smirked before wrenching open the door and shouting, “Someone get Liam a box of tissues!”

He ran out of the room when he heard Liam’s shout of exasperation.

Louis made a swift beeline towards Harry. The taller boy shook his head fondly and wrapped his arms around Louis, keeping him safe from Liam’s wrath…for the moment, at least!

___________________________________________________________

 

Louis wasn’t a hundred percent sure how it happened but he was sitting in the back of a large and undoubtedly expensive car, on his way home for Christmas, being driven by a professional chauffeur. Harry had insisted it was the rational thing to do because, “Asking your Mum to drive all the way out here the week before Christmas is just mean, Lou! Especially when I have the means to get us there without troubling her”.

Louis hadn’t caved at first but, as with most things, Harry eventually wore him down. Let’s just say it was fucking close to impossible to not mindlessly agree with whatever his curly-haired boyfriend was saying when the boy had Louis’ achingly hard cock in his mouth! He had pointed out how unfair a tactic that was when he’d finally regained his brain cells from the incredible orgasm he’d been given and Harry had made it up to him by kissing him until Louis fell asleep. Overall, Louis couldn’t complain.

He glanced over at Harry now, as they sat in the backseat of the car, the privacy screen up and separating them from their chauffeur. Harry smiled when Louis reached up to cup his cheek, drawing his thumb through the small crater of a dimple. 

He dropped his hand when Harry’s phone vibrated with a text. Harry frowned as he opened it but then let out a chuckle.

“Zayn’s crying over his costume choices”, he explained to Louis, who grinned.

“I take it he didn’t have much luck getting out of the ball then?”

“Nope! When Mum says mandatory, she means it”, Harry smiled, looking altogether too smug. Louis rolled his eyes fondly but reached over to tug one of his curls in a slight reprimand. Of course, all that served to do was make Harry’s eyes flutter shut as he let out a soft moan that had Louis hardening in his pants within seconds.

He pulled Harry down and pressed their lips together in a slow, sensual kiss. Harry took it one step further, reaching towards the bulge in Louis’ pants and palming at it until the smaller boy was bucking against him, chasing the friction.

“N..not here!” Louis finally managed to wrench himself away from Harry’s intoxicating touch, panting with arousal. “We are not going to be _that_ couple who can’t keep their hands off of each other!”

“But babe”, Harry whined, pouting when Louis pushed his hand away and adjusted himself, “I thought we already were!”

“You thought wrong, Harold. Now, please try to behave for the next week. There are children in the house”.

Harry’s grin grew wider and Louis watched with astonishment as the look of desire in his eyes shifted to something softer. 

“How old are your sisters, Lou?”

Louis counted his siblings in his head. “The oldest is Lottie. She’s thirteen and thinks she’s way too cool to be seen with her brother anymore”.

Harry laughed and Louis felt himself smiling as he continued, “Fizzy’s nine and a sweetheart. Phoebe and Daisy are both four, hyperactive and troublesome so naturally, they’re my favourites!”

Harry’s eyes were sparkling with excitement now.  
“I can’t wait to meet them!” he gushed and then, his excitement unexpectedly died down, “But…like, I’ve never really been around children much. What if they hate me?”

Louis was tempted to roll his eyes because Harry didn’t seem to realise just how effortlessly he oozed charm. Instead, he ignored safety protocols and unbuckled his seatbelt, climbing onto Harry’s lap. Harry’s hands immediately wrapped around his waist to steady him and Louis leant forward until their foreheads were touching.

“Hazza”, he murmured, softly, not bothering to contain the fondness that laced his words as worried, green eyes stared up at him, “My whole family is gonna _love_ you! You couldn’t make them hate you if you tried”.

“But if they do…”

“It’s not going to change the way I feel about you”, Louis cut across Harry’s needless worries, “I love you and no matter what happens during this visit, I will still love you at the end of it. But, that being said, I’m completely confident that the only thing that’s going to happen is you charming my family so that they decide to adopt you as their son and kick me to the curb”.

Harry let out a bark of laughter, eyes widening at the sudden sound but before he could get embarrassed or cover it up, Louis brushed their lips together. He nibbled on Harry’s bottom lip, suckling it gently and exploring the shape of his plush mouth as it fitted against his own. 

The rest of the ride was filled with comfortable silence, occasional conversation and varying degrees of kisses. They refrained from hand jobs. Louis felt that was a huge accomplishment in and of its own!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those of you who haven’t noticed, there’s only three more chapters left for this story to reach its finale! I’m sad that it’s coming to an end but excited to see what you think of it. I promise a happy ending!  
> Comments make my day, so please leave one. Love to you all <3 xx


	24. Visiting the Tomlinsons

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry meets the Tomlinsons.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I never in my wildest dreams thought this fic would become this popular! Thank you for all the flattering comments and kudos! You all inspire me to keep writing <3 xx  
> So this chapter started out as a bit of fluff and ended up as...this. Hope you like it :)

Louis hadn’t been kidding when he said his whole family would love Harry but even he hadn’t expected it to be _this_ much! Ever since they’d stepped in through the front door and Harry had politely introduced himself to Jay and the girls, Louis had barely gotten to see his boyfriend. A curl here, a flash of dimples there but the green-eyed boy was never in one place long enough for Louis to speak to him.

For example, he had heard Lottie giggling about something with Harry but by the time he wandered over to give his boyfriend a kiss, Fizzy had claimed him as her own personal stylist, asking him to paint her nails and do her hair. Harry had shot Louis an apologetic look before turning to indulge Fizzy. Louis had watched them for a few minutes, seen the soft curve of a smile on Harry’s lips, the delight in his eyes when Fizzy approved of his selected hairstyle. Harry may not have been around children much but he was a natural with them!

The last time Louis had caught sight of him was over an hour ago and Harry had barely gotten enough time to murmur, “The twins are having a tea party with their dolls and I’m invited!” before Phoebe and Daisy had dragged him off. Louis was beginning to feel quite unwanted in this house! But he couldn’t hold a grudge against his family for being so spellbound by Harry, not when he himself was no better!

So, he tried to pay attention to his Mum as she told him about their new neighbour’s rabbit…or maybe it was a turtle? Some animal that ate green stuff either way, because she was complaining about how it always got into her garden and destroyed her seedlings. 

Louis hummed and nodded in the right places, sipping his tea and letting his thoughts drift to Harry again. What was he doing right now? Louis hoped the twins hadn’t overwhelmed him with demands to play one game after another. They sometimes got too excited when they met new people and they had taken to Harry right from the start, competing against each other on who got to be held by the curly-haired boy first. At one point, Louis swore he saw Harry carrying Daisy while Phoebe clung to his legs, giggling as he pretended to trip.

“Louis!” He was startled out of his thoughts by the fond exasperation of his Mum’s voice that suggested this hadn’t been the first time she’d called his name.

“Oh, um..sorry. I just…”

“So, tell me about Harry”, Jay cut across with a knowing twinkle in her eye. 

Louis immediately blushed and glanced down, suddenly fascinated by his plain tea cup. He had known his Mum would eventually ask about his boyfriend, who he had told her precious little about but he honestly didn’t know how to start this conversation. 

“Louis”, Jay’s tone told him that she wasn’t going to let him get away without saying anything, “How do you feel about him?”

Louis cleared his throat before finally speaking, his voice quiet. “He’s amazing, Mum. I know this sounds cheesy but I’ve never met anyone quite like him. I think…I love him”.

Jay nodded, not even pretending to be surprised. She had figured as much from the moment she’d seen Harry and Louis in the driveway, the taller boy clinging to her son’s hand with a nervous look on his face that Louis had smoothed away with a sweet kiss. But she _was_ a mother so she could tell there was something more, something Louis wasn’t voicing out loud.

“But?” she asked, softly.

Louis worried his lip between his teeth, trying to figure out how to phrase it. He felt his Mum’s hand brush through his fringe, sweeping it back off his forehead in a soothing motion. This was his _Mum_. She was the one person who would never judge him for his insecurities. 

“But I…I’m scared of giving my heart away to someone”, Louis mumbled, “I told Liam that Harry wasn’t like Aidan and he’s _not_ but I’m still scared that…he might wake up tomorrow and realise I’m not good enough for him. Half the school’s in love with him! He could do so much better than me”.

“Now, that’s where you’re wrong”, Jay said, firmly, “I’ve seen the way that boy looks at you. That’s not the look of someone who’s planning on leaving you with a broken heart. It’s the look of someone who’s falling in love in spite of themselves”.

Louis couldn’t stop the smile that curved up his lips. 

“I know it’s stupid. He told me how he feels about me but I just…what if I screw it up, Mum?”

Jay sighed, petting his hair lightly. 

“I wish I could tell you not to worry about it but that’s a part of life, Boo”, she told him, “You’re both going to make mistakes because you’re human. But you’re also going to be there for each other and work things out together. It’s okay to be afraid, love, as long as you don’t let that fear control you”.

Louis nodded before voicing his final question. His voice came out tinny, barely there.

“Do you think we’ll work out? Harry and I?”

Jay smiled.  
“I think some people are worth taking a chance on”, she answered and left it at that. “Now, tell me what’s been happening at that school of yours”.

Louis smiled and ended up talking to her for well over an hour about everything and anything. He had missed his Mum and he hadn’t quite realised how much until he was with her again, sitting in the kitchen, eating tea and cookies the way he had done hundreds of times before. Harry eventually escaped Lottie and Fizzy’s clutches and joined them, charming Jay as easily as he had her daughters.

When his Mum offered Harry a tray of her freshly made gingerbread cookies, Louis knew his boyfriend had been officially approved by the whole family. It made his grin grow that much wider and he caught Harry’s eye, tilting his head towards the front door.

Harry nodded, eyes lighting up at the thought of getting some ‘alone time’ with Louis. It made Louis feel just the slightest bit smug. It was nice to know he wasn’t the only one that missed Harry when they were apart for more than a few hours!

“I’m going to show Harry around town for a bit, Mum”, Louis announced, getting up and grabbing Harry’s hand. 

“Alright but I want you both back here before dinner”, Jay stated before shooing them out of the kitchen and reminding them to take their coats with them.

Louis rolled his eyes, planning on ignoring the suggestion. It wasn’t that cold! But Harry was already grabbing their coats and bundling Louis into his, chuckling at his mutters of, “You’re worse than my Mum, you know that?”

“Maybe I just like seeing you in a beanie. You look cute”, Harry replied and whatever comment Louis had been about to retort with flew out of his mind when Harry pressed a quick kiss to his lips. It was sometimes embarrassing, the effect Harry had on him.

Instead of responding, Louis grabbed the larger boy’s hand and dragged him out the door, pulling him closer as they walked through the snow-laden pavement. Harry looked absolutely gorgeous! He was rosy-cheeked from the cold, curls escaping the beanie he had stuck on his own head and he was humming a soft tune to himself, keeping his hand interlinked with Louis’. He looked…happy.

“I am”, Harry smiled, catching Louis’ gaze. At this point in their relationship, Louis wasn’t surprised by how Harry sometimes seemed to be able to read his mind. They just knew each other well, maybe better than other couples who had been together for much longer. 

“Your family are amazing, Lou”, Harry continued, a fond smile on his face.

“They think you’re pretty amazing too”, Louis replied, grinning when he saw the way Harry’s dimples appeared in his cheek. “The twins are all but ready to trade me in for you and Fizzy and Lottie keep giggling over you like…”

He paused, eyes widening. “Fuck! They have a crush on you, don’t they? My _sisters_ think my boyfriend is hot!”

Harry laughed then, pulling Louis closer to him with an arm around his waist. Louis smiled as Harry’s lips brushed across his jaw, nibbling the skin below his earlobe lightly enough to make him groan and bite his own lip.

“Unfortunately for them”, Harry whispered, his breath a ghost of warmth against Louis’ otherwise chilled skin, “I am deeply and irrevocably in love with their brother”.

“You better be”, Louis murmured back before wrapping his arms around Harry’s neck and pulling the boy in for a kiss. It was just a soft peck but it still made Louis’ heart skip a beat and he pulled away right as Harry tried to deepen it.

“Lou”, Harry whined, pressing another kiss to the underside of his jaw as if hoping to tempt him into losing control. If given enough time, it would undoubtedly work but the last thing Louis wanted was to be arrested for public indecency a few days before Christmas!

“Not yet. I have to show you something first”, Louis said and started walking again. Harry pouted but followed along.

They walked in comfortable silence for a while, Harry taking in the Christmas lights that were strung up around town and the displays in each shop window. It was refreshing to see his childish excitement, eyes lighting up over the smallest things. Things Louis had always taken for granted but he saw them now through a new pair of eyes. He saw them the way Harry did, as a part of Louis’ childhood. 

When they passed a group of carol singers, Harry insisted on stopping and listening. Louis rolled his eyes but indulged his request, biting his lip to hold back the laughter when Harry placed two hundred pounds into the collection jar and the choir leader’s eyes nearly popped out of his head! They thanked him profusely but Harry just grinned and said, “Merry Christmas!” before letting Louis pull him along to the next destination. 

“You know, most people don’t give that much”, Louis pointed out as they resumed their walk.

Harry shrugged. “I don’t think I gave them enough. A price can’t be put on music”.

“Try saying that to Taylor Swift”, Louis muttered, “I paid a fortune for her last album”.

Harry actually wheezed with laughter as if Louis had just said the best joke in the world. It really wasn’t all that funny but Louis felt a warm tingle run through him at the thought of making Harry laugh. He loved that he could do that, that Harry let him. 

They stopped by a small cafe that Louis had often visited and Pat, the owner, gave them a warm smile and asked after Louis’ family. She had known him for most of his life and she took great delight in telling Harry stories of Louis as a child and how much he had loved her cakes.

“Still does”, she finished before offering them the baked treats and hot chocolate for free.

“Save your money for Christmas presents!” she stated, waving Harry off when he tried to protest. Louis laughed, thanked her and dragged Harry away.

“Do you think it would be weird to buy her a present?” Harry asked and Louis couldn’t stop himself from laughing despite knowing Harry was being serious.

“Yes, Harold”, he finally stated, “I think showing up at Pat’s house with a Christmas present would definitely fall into the category of weird”.

“But she gave us free food!” Harry protested.

“Yeah but that’s just the way Pat is. She always offers free stuff during Christmas week. Something about the spirit of giving and-” he cut off with a sigh as he saw his boyfriend’s puppy dog eyes, pulling Harry into the nearest store. “Fine. Let’s get her a present but only because I know you’re not going to shut up about it!”

Harry grinned and actually clapped his hands together as if Louis had just granted him access to a candy store. It took another thirty minutes of searching through stores before Harry finally found something he considered suitable- a rainbow coloured scarf that Louis _knew_ Pat would love! 

“We can get it delivered on Christmas day, if you’d like?” the sales clerk offered and Harry nodded enthusiastically. He frowned a bit when he realised he didn’t know her address but Louis just told the clerk, “It’s for Pat from Pat’s Cafe” and the man nodded. Living in a small town generally meant everyone knew everyone else. Privacy was but an illusion, as Liam often liked to say.

They also picked out a Christmas card that the store agreed to deliver to her and, instead of writing their names, Harry decided to write ‘With love, Santa Claus’. Louis hid his smile against Harry’s shoulder.

After they left the store, Louis took Harry to see Liam’s house. They couldn’t go in because Liam’s entire family spent Christmas week out camping in the wilderness. Louis had always thought it was a horrible idea(why endure frostbite when you could be snuggling up in front of the fire with hot chocolate?) but Liam loved it and it had been their family tradition for years now. 

Harry, it seemed, agreed with Louis if his shudder of horror at the thought of camping in winter was anything to go by! Louis grinned and made a spontaneous decision that they should visit his old school, jumping over the metal fence that claimed it was electric but which Louis knew for a fact, wasn’t.  
They came to a stop on the football field.

Louis wandered over to the bleachers, climbing up and skating his hand over one of the seats. 

“This is where I had my first kiss”, he said, smiling and leaning back against Harry when the boy’s arms came around him.

“With?” Harry prompted and Louis chuckled.

“With a girl, believe it or not. Her name was Hannah. We were fourteen. She’s the one who helped me figure out who I was”.

Harry hummed against his ear, pressing a soft kiss to the skin there.  
“Then I owe her one”, he murmured and Louis couldn’t stop the goofy grin that appeared on his face. 

“I have mostly good memories about this place”, Louis said after a few minutes of comfortable silence, turning around in his boyfriend’s arms and pushing Harry down onto one of the seats, “I was hoping you wouldn’t be opposed to making some more”.

Harry’s answering smile was almost brighter than the snow that littered the ground around them, as he gently pulled Louis down to straddle his lap before pressing their lips together in a firm kiss.

Louis gasped against the soft, warm wetness of Harry’s mouth, moaning when the lad’s hand traced over his arse, pulling him closer. Louis’ own hands found purchase in Harry’s hair, pulling it in just the right way to make the taller boy groan and buck his hips slightly, his cock undoubtedly hardening beneath the layers of his jeans.

“I’m pretty sure my old Principal would give us detention if he saw us right now”, Louis panted out as Harry pulled back from the kiss and started suckling a love bite against his collarbones.

“Would be worth it”, Harry murmured, huskily and Louis groaned softly, letting the boy’s wet mouth worship his skin.

He eventually pulled away, ignoring Harry’s whine of disappointment and pressed another kiss against his lips. He cradled Harry’s face in his hands and when he finally broke the kiss, he could see from the lust-filled look on Harry’s face that he wanted nothing more than to wreck Louis. Possibly right here, on the bleachers. 

But as much as he wanted to give his hard cock some relief, his fear of getting frostbite was greater so he got off of Harry with a sigh of regret that was echoed by his boyfriend. It gave Louis a small rush of satisfaction when he saw Harry reach down and adjust the bulge of his pants so he could stand up and walk properly.

His smugness was short-lived though, when Harry moved the same hand up and palmed at Louis’ cock through his jeans, causing him to let out a breathy moan.

“When can we?” Harry whispered hotly against his ear and Louis gulped, his throat suddenly dry as Harry cupped him over the material and rubbed insistently. If he kept that up, Louis was going to have a soiled pair of pants and a very uncomfortable walk home!

“T..tomorrow”, he managed to rasp out, “M..Mum and the girls are going to go pick out the Christmas tree so the house will be empty”.

Harry drew back then, a conflicting pout on his lips.  
“Shit! I promised the twins I’d help them with that”.

Louis closed his eyes for a second, pinched the bridge of his nose. Of course! He just _had_ to have gotten a boyfriend who cared about disappointing four year olds!

When he opened his eyes again, Harry was biting his own lip, looking gloriously frustrated with himself.

Louis smirked at that.

“Well”, Louis said, as nonchalantly as possible, leaning in to press a warm kiss against the rabbiting pulse of Harry’s neck, “We could have had _so_ much fun, anything you wanted”.

He brushed the back of his hand over the still tenting bulge in front of Harry’s jeans and was rewarded with a gasp and a shudder from the lad.

“But I suppose tree shopping will be much more family friendly”.  
And then, because he was feeling slightly vindictive for not being able to appease his own horniness, he gave Harry’s cock a teasing squeeze over his jeans. 

“Lou”, Harry warned, huskily but he couldn’t stop the way he shifted against Louis’ hand, begging for more friction.

Louis gave him one more squeeze, knowing he was now painfully hard, before he moved back. 

He winked at Harry and said, “We should get going. Mum will be expecting us home soon”.

As he walked away, he may have swayed his hips slightly more than usual but the strangled moan he heard behind him made it worth the effort. Even the borderline bruising, desperate kiss Harry pressed to his lips before they walked back into the house, growling something about how he would pay for being a tease, couldn’t stop the smile from leaving Louis’ face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two more chapters left until this story is officially complete! I love reading your comments so please leave one if you have time :)  
> Until the next update, love to you all <3 xx


	25. Terrible Tease

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry and Louis have a little fun with each other...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Firstly, I apologise for the long wait. I had other fics in my head that just had to be written down(you know how it is!). But I FINALLY got this chapter written up and yes, it contains smut for those that requested it :)  
> I can never thank you enough for all the kudos and lovely comments you leave me! Let’s all cry together over this being the second to last chapter :(  
> I made it long because I just didn’t want it to end. Enjoy babes! xx

The last week had been filled with Christmas-related activities, keeping the girls entertained and helping Jay bake treats for everyone. It was a fun, relaxing week except for all the teasing touches Harry and Louis had been sharing, trying to see who would crack first.

At first it was just small things- a kiss that lingered slightly longer than a mere peck, a pat to the bum as one sauntered past the other, bending over _slightly_ more than necessary when putting up Christmas decorations. It was like a game between them, one no one else was aware of.  
But then, Harry decided to take it up a notch.

Jay had insisted that the boys sleep in separate rooms and, despite Louis’ protests, Harry had been ardently sticking to her rules, insisting that he didn’t want to make a bad impression.

“You could walk around naked and you wouldn’t make a bad impression on my family”, Louis muttered because it was plain to see how much all the Tomlinsons adored Harry.

Harry had chuckled and given him a kiss before returning to the guest room where Jay had made a bed for him. 

 

So, Louis was considerably surprised when his bedroom door opened and locked shut behind a lone figure. 

“Lou?” Harry’s familiar drawl came and Louis managed to calm down his racing heart.

“Hazza? What are you doing here-oh!” His question was cut off with a squeak of surprise when his boyfriend climbed onto his bed, trapping Louis’ body by bracing his arms by Louis’ head. After a week of only the bare minimum physical contact, just the feel of Harry’s heavy weight over him was welcome.

“Haz. We can’t”, Louis wasn’t proud of how his voice cracked but Harry was suckling a love bite against his neck, nudging his jaw with his nose until Louis tipped his head back and gave him better access to the tender skin. 

Louis managed to get his breath slightly more even and, albeit reluctantly, moved his head away from Harry’s assault.  
“We can’t, Harry!” 

Harry growled low in his throat and Louis had to bite back his moan at the sound. He _loved_ it when Harry got dominant on him! But having sex in his childhood home, where his Mum and sisters were within hearing range, was not the best idea!

“I’m serious!” Louis protested when Harry moved towards him again, “The girls will hear. I’m not going to traumatise my siblings with-”

His words were cut off by Harry’s lips. The kiss was hard and insistent, desperate and needy. Louis whined into Harry’s mouth as the larger boy pinned his wrists to the bed. He moaned as Harry suckled his lower lip and nibbled at the top, coaxed them to open in invitation and then, licked into him, tasting everything he had to offer.

“Louis”, Harry’s voice was wrecked when he pulled back, his eyes glittering with need.

“Harry”, Louis bit his lip, shifting his hips to try and relieve some of the pressure in his suddenly tight pants. Harry groaned, dropping his forehead against Louis’ and panting hard.

“Fuck! Do you have any idea what you do to me?” Harry rasped and, before Louis could attempt to formulate an answer, crashed his lips against his again. He felt Harry’s hand close over his cock and, despite there being a layer of material between them, Louis arched up into the touch. His hips began to swivel and he moaned as Harry started to stroke him gently, over his pants, swallowing Louis’ whimpers and moans.

Louis felt himself get wetter and his eyes rolled back in pleasure when Harry thumbed at the wet head of his cock, drawing out the pre-come there until there was an obvious, damp patch on his pants. Then, just as Louis’ member was hard and throbbing for release, Harry moved away, detaching his lips from Louis’ with one, final peck.

“What the fuck?!” Louis snapped but his voice came out thick with desire, his body still shuddering from the feel of Harry’s hands on him.

Harry, the evil lad, just smirked and whispered, “Your sisters will hear, Lou”.

“I can be quiet”, Louis pleaded and he would probably be embarrassed by his desperation later but he hadn’t done anything properly sexual with his boyfriend in over a week. He was horny, damn it!

Harry’s eyes turned a shade darker at the words and Louis swore he heard the taller boy’s breath hitch but just when he thought Harry would give in, he turned away with a shake of his head.

“Can’t, darling. You could never be quiet, no matter how hard you try”. 

The words shouldn’t have made Louis moan softly but they did. Harry gave him another smirk before softly adding, “Goodnight, Lou. Sweet dreams”, and walked out of the room, closing the door behind him.

Louis lay back in bed, tempted to bring himself to orgasm but then he realised his own hand would be a poor substitute for Harry’s. He groaned, cursed the curly haired boy under his breath and decided he would get revenge for the teasing if it was the last thing he did!

 

Which was why Harry found a warm hand trailing higher along his thigh as the family sat down to dinner two nights before Christmas. He shot Louis a warning look but the blue-eyed boy just gave him a bright grin and continued moving his hand closer to Harry’s groin, which was already reacting to his boyfriend’s touch. Fuck!

Harry tried to keep his face clear of all expression as Jay, who was sitting a few seats away from him, finished saying grace. Louis wasn’t worried anyone would see him because he was sitting next to the twins. Harry, on the other hand, was sitting at the end of the table with Fizzy opposite him and Louis to his right. 

Jay’s cooking was delicious but Harry could barely swallow the chicken when Louis’ hand started rubbing along the outline of his cock. It came to life under his knowing touch and Harry had to bite his lip to stop any embarrassing sounds from coming out. He nudged Louis’ foot under the table but the smaller boy just hid his smile behind his glass of water and continued caressing Harry through his jeans.

So yes. Maybe Harry had teased Louis a tad too much last night but in his defence, he had been forced to endure _days_ of watching his gorgeous boyfriend walk around in the tightest jeans he owned, bending over on purpose right in front of Harry at times when he couldn’t actually do anything about it and, on one particular occasion, deep throating a banana.

Harry had actually had to excuse himself from the kitchen then and he wasn’t proud of how quickly he came into his own hand once he’d locked himself in the bathroom. Louis knew the exact effect he had on Harry and he seemed determined to make him lose control so Harry had done the same. Teasing Louis last night had left him feeling smug, knowing beyond a doubt that his boyfriend was just as affected by him as he was by Louis. But right now, as they sat with the Tomlinson family at the dinner table, Harry was fast regretting his decision to tease Louis.

Why had they even started this stupid game? It wasn’t quite so fun when there was the very real possibility that Harry would come right then and there, in his pants, from nothing more than a few rubs of Louis’…

He gasped when Louis squeezed him and Louis shot him a glare. Shit! Fizzy was looking at him, confused.

“Um..I..ah, hit my foot against the table”, Harry improvised but she seemed to buy it as she nodded before going back to her food. 

Lottie was telling Jay something about a friend of hers from school but Harry could barely focus on holding his fork with steady hands as Louis continued to tease him mercilessly under the cover of the table. Harry placed his fork down and reached for a glass of water with his left hand, moving his right under the table to pinch Louis’ thigh meaningfully. It wasn’t a warning anymore. It was a plea to stop before Harry actually lost control. 

Louis’ face was altogether too smug but he gave Harry one last rub before taking his hand away and carrying on with dinner as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened.

“Are you alright, love?” Jay’s question made Harry look at her, confused. “You just seem a bit red in the face. Are you coming down with a fever?”

“Oh..um, I don’t think so”, Harry managed to say, clearing his throat awkwardly and shooting Louis a furious look when Jay wasn’t watching. 

“He’ll be fine, Mum”, Louis finally came to his rescue, “The chicken’s a bit spicy. He’s just not used to it!”

This was blatantly untrue as they often ordered Indian takeout during movie nights at school but Harry wasn’t going to argue that fact right now. Not when the real reason behind his flushed cheeks was…well. Not appropriate dinner table conversation.

“I hope it’s not too spicy for you, love?” Jay asked, concerned so Harry ignored his smirking boyfriend and simply said, “No! It’s lovely, Jay. I’ll be fine”.

He glanced at Louis one more time before returning to his meal, catching the boy’s gaze. Louis gulped as Harry looked away. That wasn’t just anger he saw in the larger boy’s eyes, it was the desire to ravage Louis. The last time that had happened, Harry had…

Louis bit his lip and returned to his food, suddenly realising baiting Harry at the dinner table might have been his dumbest idea yet. Too late now though!

 

Louis shouldn’t have been surprised when Harry showed up in the bathroom the next morning while he was having a shower but he still squealed, attempting to cover his body with his hands. He wasn’t even sure _why_ he did. It’s not like Harry hadn’t seen him naked before but somehow, with the way Harry was looking at him, eyes dark with unconcealed lust, Louis felt the need to cover up.

He watched, breathless as Harry closed and locked the bathroom door behind him. The curly-haired boy pulled off his shirt and stripped off his pants. Louis’ throat was too dry to speak when Harry opened the shower door and stepped into the warm jet of water, sharing it with Louis. 

If Louis had thought Harry was gorgeous before, he was absolutely _devastating_ with water running over his smooth skin, clinging to his eyelashes, dampening his hair. Harry closed his eyes for a moment, entire body taut as Louis ran a finger down his torso, tracing those chiselled abs. He couldn’t help it. The need to touch Harry, even with the knowledge his Mum and sisters were just downstairs, was too great.

When Harry finally opened his eyes, they were clouded with desire. Louis knew what was going to happen before it did but he still gasped when Harry pinned him against the shower wall, pressing hard kisses against his lips. Harry’s hands were everywhere- flicking over his nipples, running down his spine, smoothing over the curve of his arse.

He moaned when Harry’s cock brushed against his and Harry did it again, shuddering against Louis as they both started to move faster, chasing that familiar feeling of pleasure. He cried out in disappointment when Harry suddenly moved away.

“Harry”, he said through clenched teeth but the curly-haired boy only smirked and threw him a wink before getting on his knees. Louis barely had time to realise what was going on before Harry’s mouth was on his, warm and wet and perfect, licking over his cock and caressing his balls with his talented tongue.

Louis couldn’t hold back the moan of pleasure as Harry began to suckle the head, tasting the salty liquid that was already forming at the slit. He didn’t realise quite how loudly he had moaned until the suction on his cock stopped and he found himself caged against the shower wall again by Harry’s arms, the green-eyed boy giving him a stern look.

It really shouldn’t have made Louis’ heart race the way it did. His cock throbbed in response, already missing the attention of Harry’s mouth. 

“You need to be quiet for me, Lou”, Harry said, huskily, cupping Louis’ face with one hand, “You don’t want to wake up your sisters, do you?”

Before Louis could fully process the words, Harry was kissing him, harsh and demanding, leaving Louis’ lips tingling with desire when he moved away.

Louis whimpered pathetically when Harry stepped out of the shower and bent over by the sink, searching for something in the cabinet. Louis moved a hand to his hard cock, stroking it as he watched the toned muscles of Harry’s body and the firm skin of his arse move tantalisingly in front of him.

“Don’t touch yourself”, Harry commanded, not even looking back to check but Louis’ hands fell away, his cock throbbing angrily in protest. He shivered at the rough sound of Harry’s voice and closed his eyes, trying to focus on something that wouldn’t make him come the moment Harry put his hands on him. It had been a long week of teasing and his body was tired of it!

He couldn’t stop himself from whimpering when Harry’s arms came back around him, palming at his arse cheeks, loving the way his boy felt in his arms.

“Gonna be good for me, Lou?”Harry asked, biting back a groan when he saw the way Louis nodded, eyes blown wide with arousal. 

“Please”, Louis pleaded, gently biting his boyfriend’s jaw and Harry fought back a shiver as he parted Louis’ cheeks and thumbed over the tight ring of muscles. Louis pushed back against him in response, craving more. It took him a moment to realise Harry’s fingers were oily.

“Is that..” Louis groaned as one of those long, talented fingers breached his tight hole, “Are you using my Mum’s massage oil as lube?”

“Maybe. You complaining?” Harry murmured and, before Louis could protest any further over it, sunk another finger in right beside the first one. Louis gripped Harry’s shoulders as his hole was stretched, the larger boy pumping his fingers in and out, suckling against the pulse on Louis’ neck in a languid manner.

Louis fisted a hand in Harry’s wet hair and pulled him up so he could attach their lips together. The kiss was wet and passionate and Harry was clearly the one in control. Louis moaned as his hole was stretched by Harry’s fingers and then, when he least expected it, Harry brushed over the sensitive bundle of nerves inside him, causing Louis to cry out against his mouth.

“Harry, Hazza, love”, Louis knew he was babbling but Harry just gave a soft growl of appreciation as Louis’ body sucked his fingers in deeper, seeking that pleasurable feeling. 

“What do you want, Lou?” Harry’s rough voice whispered in his ear as the man used his hand to stroke Louis’ cock in time with the thrust of his fingers.

“I..Haz…please?” Louis gasped. Harry tilted his head down so he could capture Louis’ lips in another, bruising kiss. His hands sped up on Louis’ cock, his fingers prodding against his prostate in a relentless fashion until Louis had no choice but to choke back his cry of pleasure as his body spasmed, thick ropes of come flooding out only to be washed away by the water.

Louis panted against Harry’s shoulder as he came down from the high. He was so lost in his pleasure that he didn’t even notice Harry had spread his thighs further apart and removed his fingers from Louis’ throbbing hole.

It was only when Harry’s hands guided him to wrap his legs around the taller boy’s waist, that Louis realised what was happening.

“Hazza”, his voice was a weak protest, “My Mum’s gonna suspect something if we’re in here for much longer”.

Harry smirked and leaned down to give him another, slightly softer kiss. 

“Should have thought of that before you tried to embarrass me at the table yesterday”, he drawled, voice thick with arousal at the sight of the boy in front of him. 

Louis gulped, remembering how smug he had felt when he had Harry under his control, unable to do anything but take it as Louis stroked his cock over his jeans. He couldn’t stop the small grin from appearing on his face and Harry saw it.

His teeth scraped over Louis’ shoulder, lightly gnawing at the skin there before working his way up to his ear.

“Think that’s funny, do you?” he growled.

“N..no? Funny? Who said anything about-fuck!” Louis moaned as Harry’s cock entered him in one, swift motion, Harry bottoming out and giving Louis a few seconds to adjust.

“Do you know how much I’ve struggled to control myself this past week?” Harry continued, murmuring the words against his skin as Louis kept his hands wrapped around Harry’s neck, eyes glassy with desire. “Each time you teased me, knowing I wouldn’t be able to touch you like this in front of your family?”

He punctuated his words with a thrust, hitting Louis’ prostate dead on. Louis couldn’t do much more than gasp as his cock started to fatten up, incredibly turned on by Harry’s words and actions. His fingernails scratched at Harry’s back, trying to find purchase as the larger boy bounced him on his cock, giving him what he’d been aching for all week.

“I”, Harry murmured, pressing a kiss to the soft skin below Louis’ ear as the smaller boy mewled with need, “Am going to _wreck_ you, Louis Tomlinson”.

“Harry”, Louis said in a strangled whisper and Harry took that as permission to set a fast and hard pace that always got Louis on edge within minutes. Every stroke of Harry’s cock hit him just right, filling him up and making him crave for more. His hips were desperately trying to meet Harry’s thrusts, his back arching and he moaned when Harry started suckling yet another love bite onto his neck, those large hands palming over the cheeks of his arse and spreading them wider.

“Stay quiet for me, babe. Don’t want anyone to catch us”, Harry whispered in his ear and Louis felt another wave of desire rush through him at how cracked his voice sounded. 

Harry’s mouth searched for his again and somewhere at the back of his mind, Louis noted the shower’s water had run cold but he really couldn’t be arsed to care at the moment! He opened his mouth to Harry’s questing tongue, moaning into his mouth as Harry adjusted the angle of his thrusts slightly to brush against his sensitive bundle of nerves even harder.

“Harry!” Louis panted, closing his eyes as he felt his orgasm build up. 

“Mine”, Harry mumbled against his lips, voice laced with possessiveness but Louis knew it was more a way to reassure himself that Louis was, indeed, his. 

Instead of answering verbally, Louis pulled Harry closer and turned his face into his neck, letting his hot breath hit the wet skin. Harry groaned and his hips began to stutter the way they always did right before he came.

“Lou”, Harry panted, pressing fervent kisses to the side of his face and neck, “Want you to come first”.

Louis moaned and nodded, shifting in Harry’s grip so that his cock brushed against the larger boy’s abdomen, hot and throbbing. That small amount of friction over the head of his cock was enough because, on the next thrust of Harry’s hips, Louis felt himself fall over the edge, his orgasm so strong and intense that he blacked out for a few seconds.

When he came to, Harry was spilling warm and wet inside him, repeating his name in a quiet chant.

“I love you, Louis. So much”, Harry breathed when he finally pulled out, setting Louis gently to his feet and pressing a soft, tender kiss to his swollen lips.

Louis smiled and reached up to brush back Harry’s wet hair, pushing it behind his ear and pressing a kiss to his cheek.

“I love you too, Haz”, he murmured and Harry’s dimpled smile was breathtaking. 

“We should get cleaned up…” Louis began but Harry was one step ahead, already reaching for the flannel and soap to scrub over Louis’ back. 

They eventually made it out of the shower and into dry clothes. 

When Lottie raised an eyebrow at Louis’ choice of apparel (“You _hate_ turtlenecks, Louis!”), she didn’t notice Harry’s self-satisfied smirk or the way Louis blushed as he glared at his boyfriend. When Jay casually mentioned at the breakfast table that, “Someone finished all the hot water”, she didn’t notice the way her son and Harry ducked their heads and immersed themselves in the pancakes she had made. She also didn’t notice the wink Harry gave Louis or the way her son’s breath hitched at the sight. 

Louis was never more thankful for the obliviousness of his family!

________________________________________________________________

 

Christmas morning was as hectic as always. It was a Tomlinson family tradition to have breakfast in the lounge while opening presents, which was how Harry found himself sitting on the carpeted floor with a plate of French Toast balanced on his lap. Louis was leaning against his shoulder, excitedly opening his presents.

Harry had brought gifts for everyone but he really hadn’t expected any in return so he was pleasantly surprised when he found four wrapped parcels with his name on them. Louis had the same amount and he grinned at Harry before reaching for one.

Jay had gotten them both jumpers, with half a heart on each so, when they wore it, it would match and make a whole heart. It was humiliatingly cheesy but Harry loved it and, despite Louis’ grumbling, he knew he did too because he was the first to put it on. Harry tugged his on as well and wrapped an arm around Louis’ shoulder, pulling him closer so their jumpers lined up perfectly.

Jay smiled at them both and looked as if she were about to cry so Louis hastily reached for the next present and Harry did the same. The twins too, had gotten them similar gifts- drawings they had done themselves, which they had made Jay frame. Harry’s was a beautiful, colourful butterfly and Louis’ was a rainbow. Neither could understand why those particular pictures had been chosen but they accepted that a four year old’s brain was a complicated place and thanked both Phoebe and Daisy with lots of kisses to their cheeks.

Harry smiled brightly, incredibly overwhelmed by the fact the entire family had gotten him something! He reached for another parcel, one which had Louis’ writing on it but his boyfriend grabbed his hand and whispered in his ear, “Open that one last”.

Harry nodded and whispered back, “Same with the one I got you”. 

Lottie and Fizzy had gotten them combined gifts too. “Because couples are into that kind of shit”, Lottie explained while Louis rolled his eyes and called them cheapskates.

Eventually, Louis, Harry and the girls went outside to build a snowman, which somehow disintegrated into a snowball fight with Lottie and Fizzy on Harry’s team and Phoebe and Daisy on Louis’. They argued over who the winner was until Jay opened the front door and enticingly held out a tray of hot chocolate.

Louis couldn’t resist pressing a quick kiss to his boyfriend’s flushed cheeks before they went inside and Harry beamed, snuggling close to him on the couch for the rest of the morning.

Niall, Liam and Zayn called to wish them a Merry Christmas and Louis was just saying goodbye to his friend Stan when Harry passed him the phone.

“It’s my Mum”, he added and Louis wiped his suddenly clammy hands on his jeans before reaching for the phone. It wasn’t that he was _scared_ of the Maliks exactly, but they were Harry’s family and he had a slight paranoia that they would hear him talk for a second and decide he wasn’t good enough for their son.

He leant against Harry’s side as he stammered a nervous “hello”, into the phone. 

“Louis, I presume?” A warm voice spoke, “Harry’s told us so much about you”.

“Has he? All good things, I hope”, Louis answered, shooting Harry a nervous look. His boyfriend just beamed and pressed a kiss to the side of his head before getting up to go and help Jay in the kitchen, leaving Louis alone with Sara Malik. Well, her voice, anyway.

“I can honestly say I have not heard a single bad thing about you. From either of my kids”, Sara said, “Not many people manage to charm both Harry _and_ Zayn”.

Louis gave a nervous giggle and then bit his lip. Harry’s Mum was going to think he was an idiot! 

“I wanted to say thank you, Louis”, Sara continued and Louis frowned.

“What for?” he asked, confused.

“Harry’s had…I’m not sure how much he’s told you but-”

“I know”, Louis interrupted, not wanting to put Sara through the agony of retelling Harry’s story, “About his childhood. He told me”.

There was a pause on the other end and when Sara spoke again, her voice was a mixture of surprise and delight. 

“He _told_ you? Oh that’s…he’s never…” she composed herself before continuing, “Then you know what I’m thanking you for. Harry hasn’t been happy in a long time. Not completely anyway but when he called to tell me about his boyfriend, his voice was happier than I’ve heard it in years. So I want to thank you, for making my son happy again”.

Louis smiled and replied, “He’s makes me happy too. Harry’s amazing!”

“I know”, Sara laughed, “He doesn’t seem to realise it himself but I have a feeling you’ll be the one to finally convince him”.

The conversation after that flowed much easier and when Sara finally hung up with a, “Merry Christmas, Louis. I can’t wait to meet you in person”, Louis felt more festive than ever.

Overall, Christmas morning was lovely and, despite Louis protesting that Harry’s Christmas gift for him was far too extravagant(“A trip to Paris, Haz?!” “Well, I can gift you the Paris branch of Stanford if-” “On second thoughts, a trip to Paris sounds lovely!”), it was definitely his favourite Christmas so far. 

As Louis watched Harry play with his sisters, he decided he would like to spend many more Christmases with Harry…maybe forever. And, for the first time since his disastrous relationship with Aidan, Louis wasn’t frightened by the thought of giving his heart away completely; at the thought of taking a chance on someone.

They would have their fights and rough times but they would last. He just knew it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit of dominant Harry for those that missed him ;)  
> So the last chapter/epilogue is coming up. It’s going to be set in the future (after they’ve left school and moved on to uni). I hope you’ll like it. Until then, your thoughts on this chapter would be lovely! Love to you all <3 xx


	26. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Exactly what the title says.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So we've finally reached the end of our journey with this one. I just want to take a moment to thank each and every one of you: those who followed this story right from the start, those that joined in towards the end, those that stumbled across it and decided to stay and those that clicked on the title because my summary, miraculously, caught your attention! Basically, if you've read even a single paragraph of my writing, I want to thank you!  
> I hope you enjoy the last chapter of this little fic of mine :) xx

It was the kind of day where birds were chirping, the sun was shining and people were tossing up between sun-bathing in their backyards or sitting in an air-conditioned room eating ice cream. For Liam Payne, though, it was the day before his second year exam for his degree, which meant he was hardly aware of a world existing outside that of his flat.

"I'm going to fail!" Liam groaned and everyone, except Zayn, ignored him as usual.

"No you're not, Li", Zayn, the ever dutiful boyfriend, said, running a soothing hand over Liam's back. “Remember when you thought that last year? And you got the highest marks in the class! You're the smartest person in Law”.

Liam blushed but he murmured, “Stop it with the flattery”.

“It’s not flattery when it’s fact. Just as it’s a fact that you look incredibly hot when studying”, Zayn replied smoothly and even Louis, who was well accustomed to having a charming boyfriend that planned impromptu trips to Paris, was impressed.

All of them were still only in their second year of university. At this rate, Louis dreaded to think of Liam’s pre-exam nerves when he reached his final year.

Liam sniffed. "You _have_ to say that. You're my boyfriend!"

“Thank God for that!” Louis huffed because it had taken him, Harry and Niall’s combined effort (and a lot of getting inexplicably locked together in closets and bedrooms when no one was around to free them) for Zayn to finally pluck up the courage to ask Liam out. Now though, one and a half years after they’d started dating, their PDA gave Harry and Louis a run for their money. And that was really saying something!

"I'd say that even if I wasn't", Zayn replied and Niall made retching noises.

"Too much love in one room. You lot are the _worst_!” he moaned, throwing a hand over his face as he continued eating his cheeseburger, watching re-runs of Friends on TV. Liam scowled and Zayn grinned.

"How exactly are you planning on passing your exams, Nialler?" Liam asked, pointedly. "This isn't high school anymore! You can't just _pay_ your way through passing university because your friend’s dad owns the school-”

"Actually…", Zayn began and Louis, who was sitting on the opposite couch held up his hands, shouting, "Nope. I do _not_ want to hear it! Don't you fucking dare say it, Zayn Malik!"

"Say what?" Liam asked, confused. He looked over at Harry as the boy got off the phone with Smith, who had been assigned to bring them “more pizza than even Niall can eat!” In other words, a typical evening at their flat.

Harry grinned and slid his arms around Louis, falling onto the couch next to him. The flower crown shaped silver bracelet that Louis had bought him on their first Christmas together, glinted in the light as it lay around his wrist. Harry had never taken it off since the moment his boyfriend had put it on him saying, “So you can be reminded of your sister wherever you go”.

It had helped make graduation a hell of a lot easier, knowing that despite moving away from Stanford and the town of his childhood, he would still have something with him that reminded him of Gemma. Having Louis here also helped!

"He doesn't want to hear that Dad owns the university", Harry chuckled, earning a punch on the arm from Louis. The scowl on his face was belayed by the fond look in his eyes.

"But Dad doesn't own it”, Zayn commented and Louis was about to breathe a sigh of relief when he added, "Harry does".

"What the hell, Harry!?” Louis glared at his boyfriend who held up his hands in a gesture of helplessness.

"Hey! It's not my fault if my parents think buying establishments under my name is an appropriate idea for a birthday present!"

"Actually", Zayn smirked, "I think you got this place for Christmas".

Louis groaned before another thought struck him.

"That's not why I got into this university, right?" Louis asked. He _had_ been surprised when he had gotten an invitation to attend one of the top universities for his degree. "Like, you didn't pull strings or anything, did you?"

"Of course not!" Harry said immediately, eyes wide with sincerity. And Harry wasn't _that_ good of an actor! "You got in based on your marks and your talent at Drama. You deserved it! Niall on the other hand…"

He glanced over at the blonde with a grin.

"Owe you one, mate", Niall said from his place on the couch, blowing Harry a kiss. He was absolutely brilliant at music but that was quite literally the only subject he bothered to do any work in. Luckily for Niall, he had great friends, a heap of talent and plenty of money. He'd do well in life.

"I rue the day that I met you all”, Louis muttered but he couldn’t stop his smile when he felt his boyfriend's arms slide down to his hips, pulling him back against a solid, warm chest. 

"Now, Louis”, he whispered into his ear, "We both know that's not entirely true".

“Oh please. Don't flatter yourself, Harold", Louis replied but he didn't resist when Harry's lips pressed down on his own, pulling him into another world; one filled with love and desire and comfort. A world filled with Harry Styles.

"Why did I agree to flat with two couples again?" Niall asked sullenly, turning away from Louis and Harry only to see Liam and Zayn mirroring their actions on the other side of the room. "Worst decision of my life!"

Neither couple paid him any attention, well accustomed to his grumbling by this point. Their friendship had only gotten stronger once they’d started university and one month into the “piss poor excuse for student accommodation”, as Zayn put it, they had unanimously decided to move into a flat together. 

Harry and Zayn had both petitioned to just “buy the place” but Louis and Liam were adamant that they would live like proper uni students who didn’t have hundreds of pounds to spare! Still, their flat was much better than what most uni students could afford and whilst the hot tub wasn’t a _necessary_ feature, when Harry had given Louis a very hands-on demonstration about just how fun it could be, he hadn’t had much heart to disagree. 

"I love you", Louis whispered now as he pulled back, looking into those green eyes that he was lucky enough to wake up to everyday. 

Harry hadn’t changed much on the outside compared to his days at Stanford but he dropped his guard around the five of them. Only Louis got to see his vulnerable side though and that showed just how much Harry trusted him. 

One day they'd get married, Louis knew. Harry had hinted at it enough times and it certainly wasn’t coincidence that he kept lingering outside jewellery shops whenever they went out shopping until Louis had to _physically_ drag him away. One day, they would have a family of their own but right now, they were perfectly happy as they were.

"I love you too, Lou", Harry whispered back, "Only you. Forever".

The thought of forever didn’t scare him anymore the way it once had. Louis grinned as he pulled Harry in for another kiss, both of them ignoring Niall's loud complaints in the background. Their love, Louis often thought, would make quite a story.

They had started off hating each other, then learnt to like each other, then grown to love each other. They were like mismatched puzzle pieces whose edges had been reshaped until they fit together perfectly. As time passed, their bond only seemed to grow stronger.

Liam would call it fate but Louis didn't like to label things. If anyone had asked him, he'd have said that sometimes, things just had a funny way of working out.

And, as Harry's lips moved against his, their bodies pressing against each other’s with quiet desperation; as Harry grabbed his waist and lifted him up, letting Louis wrap his legs around the larger boy; as they made their way to the bedroom hearing Niall's loud shout of, "You two better put on music if you're getting it on! Fuck, we need to invest in better sound-proofing!”, Louis decided that he loved the way things had worked out.

He was living in a comfortable flat, he had a brilliant group of friends, he was two thirds of the way through his degree and, most importantly, he was happy. Louis loved his life and although he sometimes said he hated Harry Styles, he loved him really.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been amazing to write and receive such great feedback and compliments from you all! It is you, my beloved readers, who are the true inspiration behind this story reaching its completion. So, as sappy as this sounds, thank you again. Feel free to check out my other fics if you feel up to it. 
> 
> Comments always brighten up my day so please leave me one last one if you enjoyed this fic! As always, love to you all <3 xx


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